Richard E Kelly

I just recently learned about an interesting program called Bookclub in a Bag sponsored by the KDL (Kent District Library) here in west Michigan. Here’s how it works.

I provide 12 copies of  Growing Up In Mama’s Club – A Childhood Perspective of Jehovah’s Witnesses to the  library. I also give them my bio and a study guide of thought provoking questions related to the book. Book clubs and small groups check out the book, bio, and discussion questions, and well, you know the rest. Unlike studying one of the Club’s publications, there are no right or wrong answers. The questions are designed to stimulate healthy dialogue, helping the reader make the book read a more meaningful experience.

I haven’t put together my list of questions for Mama’s Club yet. But I’m thinking about it. Perhaps some good questions to ask would be: What was Mama’s state of mind when someone from the Club first knocked on her door? What would you have advised her to do had you been asked to help? Why do you think people like Stuart Sanders, Lena Edwards, and Papa were attracted to the Club? How is the memorial of Christ’s death celebrated differently by the Club? What was the Club able to do for Mama that other religions couldn’t? Why do members of the Club believe they are the only religious group that has ”the truth?” Why couldn’t Dickie believe it? How was he able to cope with a situation he had no control over? What made him decide to finally leave the Club? How did his two-year Bethel (the Club’s headquarters) experience help him? Do you believe the author is still angry from his 16-year experience with the Club? If not, why? What advice would you give parents after reading the book?   

I had the great pleasure of receiving an email from a former neighbor and long-time friend, Susan Lamos. She is the Director of Life Enrichment, bus driver, confidant, cheer leader, and persona extraordinaire for senior citizens living at Crystal Springs, a West Michigan LifeHouse Retirement property. She reported to me that as a Christian, wife, and mother of two college aged sons, she wanted me to know how much she enjoyed reading Growing Up In Mama’s Club. Some of her excerpted comments are as follows:

“Dick, I’ve always thought you would be good at whatever you put your mind to, but your writing skills of putting me right there alongside you as that small boy—well, that took talent. It was amazing how you taunted my emotions, from smiles… to sorrow… to anger… And finally that jubilant feeling, at least for me, when you came of age and left the religion. That’s when I wept.

“There is so much to the Jehovah’s Witness religion. I never really knew much about them and how they got started. Now, I wonder about other religions. Just what is historically behind them?

“I can’t wait for the sequel. Honestly, the next book cannot come out soon enough. And knowing you, the next one will surpass the first. Kudos and applause, friend.”

Susan also asked me to meet with several of the book clubs in her retirement community to review my book in the spring of 2008. I, of course, said “yes.” I always enjoy and am amazed by the questions and comments that people have after reading my book.

Within the last two weeks, I was asked by the corporate offices of Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Ingram Book Company what makes my book so unique. My reply was as follows:

My book, Growing Up In Mama’s Club – A Childhood Perspective of Jehovah’s Witnesses, is a well-written and compelling story told from a child’s point of view. While most books about cults are written by theologians or angry ex-members, this book engages the reader by using dialogue and humor to make each scene come alive, prompting one reader to write me, “I received your book yesterday and finished it today. What a great read! I feel like I know you.” 

While much has been written to discredit Jehovah’s Witness’ theological interpretation of the Bible, this story draws on the experiences and insights of a young boy as he transitions to manhood and tries to make sense of a mother he loves and a world in which he’s rendered powerless.

This story provides interesting information about Jehovah’s Witnesses and the boy’s reaction to living under the “rule of truth.” It should prompt readers to rethink the influences that underlie their childhood. And then, perhaps, to consider that a full life is created not by what happened to them, but how they make sense of events over which they had no control.