Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life
A riveting memoir of losing faith and finding freedom while a covert missionary in one of the world's most restrictive countries.
AS HEARD ON NPR’S FRESH AIR WITH TERRY GROSS
REVIEWED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES AND THE NEW YORKER
AS SEEN ON THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH
"ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER" -O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE
“12 NEW BOOKS TO WATCH FOR IN JUNE” - THE NEW YORK TIMES
"ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)"
-REAL SIMPLE MAGAZINE
A third-generation Jehovah's Witness, Amber Scorah had devoted her life to sounding God's warning of impending Armageddon. She volunteered to take the message to China, where the preaching she did was illegal and could result in her expulsion or worse. Here, she had some distance from her community for the first time. Immersion in a foreign language and culture--and a whole new way of thinking--turned her world upside down, and eventually led her to lose all that she had been sure was true.
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BOOK REVIEWS:
“Scorah’s book, the bravery of which cannot be overstated, is an earnest one, fueled by a plucky humor and a can-do spirit that endears. Her tale, though an exploration of extremity, is highly readable and warm….She teaches us how integrity is determined not by assenting to the juvenile claims of fundamentalism, but by enduring the universe as we find it — breathtaking in its ecstasies and vicious in its losses — without recourse to a God. Given the enormity of her grief and the wholesale collapse of her previous belief system, the intellectual integrity that Scorah displays is nothing short of a miracle.”
“Scorah is a keen observer of Chinese culture, but her book is most remarkable for its intimacy. Jehovah’s Witnesses, who number eight million worldwide, are sometimes dismissed as oddball outsiders; Scorah, who now regards the group as a cult, makes that view impossible, inviting readers to experience, and confront, the grasp of a fundamentalist religion through the eyes of a former true believer.”
“In her impressive debut, Scorah recounts her years as a Jehovah’s Witness in China, her decision to leave the faith, and her ongoing spiritual questioning…Scorah’s prose is straightforward, and she has a winning sense of humor about how much she’s changed…Scorah provides a rare glimpse into the insular world of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and her accounts of expat life and leaving her faith should give this candid memoir wide appeal.”
“Leaving the Witness is the fascinating and moving story of a woman finding her true place in the world, away from the strict requirements of her family and her religion. Amber Scorah navigates her escape with courage, clarity, and humor. She is a strikingly beautiful writer with the unique perspective and fresh sight that can only belong to an outsider.”
“There aren’t many books that make you think, ’this is a totally unique story, told by a totally unique person, and I want to share it with everyone.’ Scorah memoir is about a woman’s voice. How she can use that voice to spread a doctrine. How she can reject that doctrine and speak her own beliefs. How she can use that voice to create art, and through that art, process the vicissitudes of her life. This book is perceptive, empathic, fraught, honest and heartbreaking. It is like nothing else you’ve ever read.”
“Amber Scorah’s perfectly paced and sharply-written memoir opened my eyes to inner and outer worlds I’d placed in my periphery. Scorah’s gift is this wide-openness. She shares her guts, her intelligent doubt, her pain, and forgives and allows it in her reader. Her questions are answers. This is a book for the fearful and the brave.”
“An intriguing read about a mysterious religion….an eye-opening account of how Jehovah’s Witnesses live and operate.”
“Part love story, part heartbreaking tragedy, part Graham Greene expat intrigue, part Orwellian groupthink exposé, Leaving the Witness is a vivid and unflinching account of what it means to live on the fringes of society. This is essential reading for those who have ever found themselves on the inside hoping to get out—and everyone else who has been on the outside wondering what it might be like to get in.”
“A fascinating glimpse into the consciousness of being an outsider in every possible way, and what it takes to find your path into the life you’d like to lead.”