Leaving the Witness

4.5 stars

On my top 3 memoirs, with Alex and Me, and Walking with Peety, is now Leaving the Witness. What an emotional journey, what a roller-coaster, what a unique and unforgettable book.

Quotes from the book:

For the preacher, uncertainty can not exist. It is the preacher whose job it is to proclaim, to make known a thing that she knows without doubt. The preacher, unlike the teacher, asks no question of herself, as she already has the answers. There is no human so bold as the preacher, or so blind, for they do all the talking, and none of the asking.

I wanted to believe, had always wanted to believe, that the truth was simple. I was starting to understand that truth is ambiguous, and subjective.

I could not live with the idea that there were no answers, that everything was not going to be okay, that someone was not going to kill off the bad ones. I could not tolerate the idea that one day, I would die, like everyone else.

I have been taught by my faith that to stand out from the crowd was to be lacking humility, that display of any kind of intellect was proudful, and to pursue one's interests or talents was wrong, especially as a woman.

We as human seem to work the hardest to avoid our biggest gift: freedom of choice. We want to be told what to think, what to do, how to talk, what to believe, how to believe, how to help, how to write.

Read and reviewed: 2020-01-29