(1888PressRelease)
September 01, 2006 - Nate Merritt's skill as a raconteur is amply displayed in this engrossing tale wherein we experience the psychedelic sixties as well as life in the Jehovah's Witness cult. You'll be fascinated by Nate's progression from a physically and verbally abused--but idealistic--boy of fifteen into a dangerous gun-wielding psycho of nineteen. All brought about by a rageaholic father and the demented teachings of the Watchtower. The Watchtower prophecy that 1975 would bring the End of the World pushed Nate over the edge into a life that mercifully few of us have ever experienced. Even fewer writers have ever let their readers as deeply into their minds and hearts as Nate does, and we are rewarded with a tale that is as hilarious as it is shocking, as uplifting as it is disturbing, culminating as it does in a deeply moving experience of the redeeming power of human friendship.
I Was A Teenage Jehovah's Witness is gritty, tough, real and no-holds-barred. With a unique and fascinating style Nate takes us on an intimate but wild trek into two opposing subcultures. Through the author we vicariously enjoy his adolescent fantasies as he is lured into the Jehovah's Witness cult by the sexy come-on's of a female Jehovah's Witness classmate. Nate, however, is not a typical fifteen year old, and his clash with the Jehovah's Witness authorities is almost immediate. His rude awakening to life in a totalitarian cult as well as his discovery of his own burgeoning manhood is a tale that will keep your attention riveted and leave you begging for a sequel! Car chases, gang warfare, runaway girls, drugs, sex, crime, prostitutes, giants, dwarves and midgets are juxtaposed with tightly wound life inside the Jehovah's Witness cult. Coupled with the angst, rage, and disillusionment Nate experienced through it all, and you have a unique and exciting coming-of-age tale that ranks alongside Catcher In The Rye or Rule Of The Bone!
I Was A Teenage Jehovah's Witness is the second book by author Nate Merritt. He regales his readers with a fascinating, unique account of his life as the son of a rageaholic—physically and psychologically abusive—father, and a mother who did time in prison. Understandably, Nate was propelled by the grim realities of his life into a search for meaning. This search delivered him into the clutches of a cult every bit as controlling and abusive as his father. Ultimately the insane teachings of the Watchtower Society caused Nate to spiral out of control into gang-life; A life of wild parties, drug use, serious crime, and finally, madness. It was not only Jesus that was Nate's salvation, but also the simple enduring friendship of one lone individual who stood by Nate through hell and high water.
I Was A Teenage Jehovah's Witness is many things; a cautionary tale of drug abuse and crime, a very personal look into the hippie sub-culture of the sixties, a harrowing account of life as both a Jehovah's Witness and a gang member, and a deeply moving account of the power of human friendship and Divine love to transform a life.
I Was A Teenage Jehovah's Witness is classic Americana, a book you'll read again and again.
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