PREFACE XI
AUTHOR’S NOTE XV
PART ONE IN GOD WE TRUST
1 THE HEARTLAND 3
2 FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS 21
3 EDUCATION 41
4 HOME 61
5 BODY PARTS 89
6 VIRGINITY 115
7 SHARP OBJECTS 139
8 FREEDOM 157
PART TWO TRUST NO ONE
9 THE ISLAND 169
10 THE PROGRAM 193
11 DEAD BABIES 211
12 NEW GIRL 233
13 PRO-GRESS 255
14 RAPTURE 267
15 AGUA DE COCO 285
16 THE PASTOR 313
17 TURKEY 327
18 FLORIDA 339
EPILOGUE 349
AFTERWORD 357
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 363
AN INTERVIEW WITH JULIA SCHEERES 365
READING GUIDE 371
Julia Scheeres's essays, articles, and book reviews have been published in the New York Times, Elle, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Wired and other publications. Her second book, A Thousand Lives- The Untold Story of Jonestown, won the Northern California Independent Bookseller Association's Nonfiction Book of the Year award. She lives in Berkeley, California, and is a member of The Grotto.
Praise for Jesus Land
New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the ALA Alex Award
Winner of the QPB New Visions Award
“This is one of the best memoirs in years. I foisted it on friends
and strangers alike, and everyone loved its marvelous story,
writing, humor, truth.” —Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird
“As the story gains momentum, it becomes clear that Scheeres is
driven by two things: the fierce love she feels for her brother and
the rising anger she experiences as she witnesses the injustices he
endures. There is much praise, these days, for the detached,
quietly elegant narrative. But there is little mention of the power
a well–tended rage can bring to a good story. It is Scheeres's high
emotion and her tight control of her narrative within that emotion
that is most striking. Her anger serves her well: it is focused,
justified and without a trace of self–pity. Shot through with
poignancy.” —The New York Times Book Review
“What makes Jesus Land unique and easy to relate to is its
unadorned, dark humor . . . Many of us could have had the
misfortune of stumbling into Jesus Land but few would have the
spirit to survive.” —Los Angeles Times
“[An] exquisitely wrought memoir, Scheeres emerged with
sensibilities intact and learned that love can flourish even in the
harshest climates.” —People
“[A] gripping memoir.” —Essence
“Unflinchingly honest.” —Washington Post
“[A] rough, brutal, and shockingly good memoir . . . Jesus Land is
matter–of–fact, clear–eyed, and compassionate, without
vindictiveness, which is, of course, what real Christian charity is
about.” —Boston Globe
“Julia Scheeres's engrossing debut won over most of our readers . .
. a reminder that what matters is not just the tale but the
telling.” —Elle
“A clear–eyed memoir . . . with judicious restraint. To spend your
childhood in a doctrinaire environment, whether political or
religious, is to become too familiar, too fast, with the worst of
human frailties––hypocrisy, bigotry, moral cowardice.” —Vogue
“[A] darkly comic memoir.” —GQ
“Julia Scheeres has written a love story that is as romantic and as
sad as any recent memoir you'll read . . . What Scheeres'
devastating book maps out is the story of this thwarted
relationship, which somehow survives every twisted setback and
deprivation to emerge intact. . . . It's tough going, but
life–affirming.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“[Jesus Land] is a book readers are sure to be talking about, and
references to such titles as Running With Scissors and Girl,
Interrupted will likely be drawn. Scheeres succeeds at relating a
harrowing life story with effortless humor and wisdom.” —Chicago
Tribune
“What did Julia and David learn from their strict Christian
upbringing? How to write apparently . . . Everything in this
memoir, including its final tragedy, is brightly, clearly rendered,
by a voice as rich in forgiveness as it has unforgivable stories to
tell.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“A harrowing memoir of coming–of–age amid religious zealotry . . .
Scheeres manages to balance her righteous rage against fanatical
hypocrisy with a smart sense of humor . . . poignant and
heartbreaking.” —Mother Jones
“Jesus Land is a fascinating study of how so–called discipline
warps young minds . . . poignant and [more] important to share.”
—Seattle Weekly
“A real–life coming–of–age tale is told in Jesus Land. . . Scheeres
. . . looks back with journalistic clarity and literary grace at
her teenage years.” —PW Daily
“Jesus Land is an extraordinary memoir not just for the
jaw–dropping tale it depicts, but for the wit and honesty, and
literary courage within it pages. This book will make readers think
of the Liar's Club and Bastard Out of Carolina, but there's nothing
derivative in it. For all its hardship and terror, it is above all
a love story. Scheeres is the real thing, and this is a book that
should last for a long, long time.” —Tom Barbash, author of The
Dakota Winters
“This book will break your heart and mend it again. Julia Scheeres
peels back the shiny, plastic veneer of fundamentalist Christianity
to reveal the intolerance, hypocrisy and cruelty that can lie
beneath. She does this with a merciless eye for detail, and an
uncanny ability to evoke the essence of the Midwest. However, it is
the exquisite candor and humor which makes Jesus Land so worth the
reading. That, and the simple human love that shines out of every
page.” —Lisa Reardon, author of The Mercy Killers
“The grace and emotional brawn that carried Julia Scheeres through
the pummeling brutality of her youth has enabled her to tell the
tale with a measured intensity that pulls you to her side and keeps
you there. I could not stop reading this book.” —Mary Roach,
best–selling author of Stiff
“Julia Scheeres' beautifully–written memoir took my breath away—for
the cruelties she suffered, for the courage it took to survive and
tell her story, and for her enduring, sparkling faith. She is able
to describe the everyday details of her experience with a clear,
candid eye, and without bitterness—making her story vividly alive,
at turns heart–breaking and humorous.” —Laura Fraser, author of All
Over the Map
“In this brilliant, sorrow–filled, race–tangled memoir, Ms.
Scheeres story–telling skill makes you cheer for her and her
adopted brother every step of the way as they navigate a cruel
childhood. You will especially love the well–written sections about
Ms. Scheeres' exile to a Dominican Republic reform school—inhabited
by many emotionally–uneven adults who prove the adage that some
Christians are too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.” —Joe
Loya, author of The Man Who Outgrew His Prison Cell
“[Scheeres] deftly exposes the disparity between her parents'
religious beliefs and their actions . . . and confesses with
honesty and emotion her guilt and shame at abandoning her little
brother in her search for acceptance. This work will force readers
to relive the angst of being a teenager at a new school and
desperately trying to fit in. Highly recommended.” —Library
Journal
“The writing is Dickensian in its blend of the tender, the brutal,
and the absurd.” —Booklist
“The road out of an intolerant small town leads straight to a
faith–based reform school in journalist Scheeres's scarifying
memoir . . . A bristly summoning of unpretty events, conveyed with
remarkable placidity.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A frank and compelling portrait . . . Tinged with sadness yet
pervaded by a sense of triumph, Scheeres's book is a crisply
written and earnest examination of the meaning of family and
Christian values, and announces the author as a writer to watch.”
—Publishers Weekly
Ask a Question About this Product More... |