Today I have a review of Leaving the Witness by Amber Scorah. I am so grateful to Viking Books for the invitation to review this powerful memoir and for the gifted copy. Leaving the Witness publishes on June 4, 2019.
My Thoughts:
Amber Scorah is a third-generation Jehovah’s Witness. Her life is spent believing in Armageddon and spreading the word as a witness. Amber is so devout she moves to China to minister there, where it is illegal to do so.
To do what she did in Shanghai, Scorah had to use fake names and other measures to stay under the radar of the authorities. She would search for people to target who might be “safe” to approach.
She also had to look for work to make a living, and she found that in a Chinese language learning podcast. She could not tell her coworkers her true purpose. It was through this work and creativity that she was exposed to a more secular way of life, and the world opened up over time and made her question her beliefs.
Scorah ends up “escaping” from the faith and, as a result, is shunned by her family and friends. This leads to her coming-of-age in her thirties where she finds herself with no education and support to rely on.
Scorah travels to New York City where she experiences a personal tragedy. She has to make sense of it in a different way than she may have in the past.
Y’all, Leaving the Witness is a beautiful book. Amber Scorah is a force. I get chills thinking of what she experienced and where she is today. Her writing is exquisite; just the kind of sparse but powerful prose I love most.
Leaving the Witness is the inspiring and completely captivating story of Scorah’s most personal journey. The questions she raises are poignant and immensely thought-stirring. After I turned the last page, I spent several minutes processing the ending and the book. I also found this an emotional read. Scorah faces some true struggles, and the way she writes about them shows her heart and makes her completely relatable. This is a masterpiece of a memoir, and if I’ve enticed you even a little, I strongly encourage you to give it a try. I don’t give star ratings on my blog usually, but if you are curious, this is worthy of all five stars.
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
About the Book:
A riveting memoir of losing faith and finding freedom while a covert missionary in one of the world’s most restrictive countries.
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.
As a proselytizer in Shanghai, using fake names and secret codes to evade the authorities’ notice, Scorah discreetly looked for targets in public parks and stores. To support herself, she found work at a Chinese language learning podcast, hiding her real purpose from her coworkers. Now with a creative outlet, getting to know worldly people for the first time, she began to understand that there were other ways of seeing the world and living a fulfilling life. When one of these relationships became an “escape hatch,” Scorah’s loss of faith culminated in her own personal apocalypse, the only kind of ending possible for a Jehovah’s Witness.
Shunned by family and friends as an apostate, Scorah was alone in Shanghai and thrown into a world she had only known from the periphery–with no education or support system. A coming of age story of a woman already in her thirties, this unforgettable memoir examines what it’s like to start one’s life over again with an entirely new identity. It follows Scorah to New York City, where a personal tragedy forces her to look for new ways to find meaning in the absence of religion. With compelling, spare prose, Leaving the Witness traces the bittersweet process of starting over, when everything one’s life was built around is gone.
Have you read Leaving the Witness, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR
Sounds interesting, I don’t read enough memoirs.
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It was captivating, Jules! I love a good memoir!
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She sounds like a remarkable woman. It must be so hard to turn your back to everything you used to believe in and loose your family and friends in the process.
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I agree, and I definitely think she’s remarkable. It’s a beautifully written account.
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P.s. I commented back on your blog, but it may be in spam because it didn’t show up?
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Yes, I had to approve your comment before it showed up. Sometimes, I don’t understand wordpress…
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Wow, I don’t normally read many memoirs but your review has sold me on this one.
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I hope you’ll give it a chance, Suzanne! BOTM added it as an extra selection, and I have a feeling we’ll be hearing much more about it!
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It does sound interesting, and it did make me curious, and if I ever decide to read a memoir i’ll keep this one in mind.
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It’s a great read, Jina! I hope you get a chance to try it out if you are up for a memoir.
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Wow, sounds good Jen! Scorah sounds like one heck of a woman! Wonderful review Jen!😁 Happy Friday my friend!💙☕🍩
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Thanks, Sus! She has an incredible and honest journey and writes about it all so beautifully. I hope you had a lovely Friday! Did you get any bad thunderstorms with hail? We had a horrible storm! ♥️
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Nah, we had a tornado warning about 20 miles from us…close enough right? Here we had torrential rain about ten minutes with thunder and lightning, two times but that’s it! Temperature drop sure is nice though! Did you have hail Jen?💙
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Yes, we had the worst hail I think I’ve ever experienced! With whipping winds! Made a real mess! We had a tornado warning close by, too, over the area that had the horrible tornados last year that damaged multiple schools. I don’t think one was confirmed there, but there was at least one in another county. Usually thunderstorms are our biggest concerns, not all these tornado threats! ♥️
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Sounds like an amazing book! Quite an amazing review too! Happy Friday, Jennifer!
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Thanks so much, Marialyce! It was really engaging and thought-provoking. Happy Friday and weekend to you too!
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This sounds fascinating! I’ve always loved stories about what it’s like to leave a religion, and I think it takes a very brave person to take that step and write about it. Thanks for sharing, Jennifer😁
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My pleasure, Tammy! I agree, and wow, did Scorah have tremendous strength to do what she did.
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This sounds so interesting and she sounds like a remarkable woman. I’m not sure if I could do something like that. Love your review, Jennifer. Happy Friday! 💕💕
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Thanks, Steph! She’s a huge inspiration and she made me think and feel on so many levels. I hope you’ve had a lovely Friday! ♥️
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This sounds like a powerful and moving memoir, I think it’s one I would get a lot out of so I’ll add it to my list. Fab review!
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Thanks so much, Hayley! I think you’d enjoy this one, too. There’s so much to love here.
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Wonderful review, adorable kitty picture, Jennifer! I have not read this memoir. Happy Weekend! 😍❤️📚💐🌹🌷🐾🐾😻
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Thanks, Virginia! It was a powerful memoir! I hope you had a lovely weekend, too! ♥️
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That is an amazing story, Jennifer – thank you for featuring this book which sounds a remarkable narrative:)
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Thank you, Sara! It was most definitely a remarkable read!
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I do’t read much non-fiction but this one sounds inspiring. Great review!
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Thanks, Anne! The author certainly inspired me! ♥️
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Wow this memoir sounds so SO powerful! Wonderful review. xx
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Thanks so much, Yvo! It was definitely a powerful story!
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Great review! ❤
What an interesting life!
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Thank you, Norrie! She’s definitely had a fascinating life thus far.
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This looks so interesting Jenni! Lovely review. 😊
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Thanks, Beth! It was a fascinating read! ♥️
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I need to read more memoirs – this sounds like a good one! I don’t think I’ve ever read anything from the POV of a current/former Jehovah’s Witness so this sounds fascinating.
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It was great, LP! I learned so much and it kept me thinking! I’m not sure I had read a book about Jehovah’s Witnesses before either.
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This book does sound like it was fascinating. I do like to read memoirs every now and then, so I should put this on my radar. I do teach a Jehovah’s Witness at the moment.
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I think this is a terrific one to add, Chrissi. I learned a lot and it kept me thinking. The author is truly an inspiration.
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This one is definitely going on my TBR. Thanks for making me aware of it.
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My pleasure, Janet! I hope you enjoy it! I am still thinking about it. I have another rec for you, and my review will post in a couple days. Call Your Daughter Home, set in South Carolina during the depression. What a gorgeous book and it seems like your type of read. ♥️
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