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Fathermothergod: My Journey Out Of Christian Science (2011)

by Lucia Greenhouse(Favorite Author)

3.8 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0307720926 (ISBN13: 9780307720924)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Crown

review 1: My boss lent this book to me because she thought I'd enjoy it. It was a really quick, interesting read about a woman who grew up in Christian Science and left the faith if you will as an adult. The story is set mostly around the declining health of her mother and how her parents, and her family, deal with the illness. It is an interesting look into Christian Science. Although the author is obviously not a believer and very critical of Christian Science, I did feel that she tried to present it dispassionately at times (though not throughout the book). As much as I disagree with Christian Science and the choices her parents made, one thing that struck me was that her parents often told her that the two best things they could ever do for their children is provide them a go... moreod education and Christian Science. At this level I can relate to them; as a parent I want to provide my children with a strong education and faith, and I want to be an example to my children of that faith.
review 2: This was one of the books selected for my women’s book group at church. The book intrigued me from the very beginning. When I was growing up I vaguely remember my family knew someone who was married to a woman that was raised as a Scientologist. As her father was dying and hearing how horrible his pain sounded, all I could think is why wouldn’t his family allow him to seek treatment to take away the pain of his illness, which I believe was cancer. After this I never knew anyone else who was a member of Church of Scientology or Christian Science. I know several actors and actresses are members and most of them claim that their success is due to their faith. Still in the back of my mind, I wondered why these religions do not believe in modern medicine when science was in part of the religion. Just a little FYI, the two religions mention previously are not one in the same, check it out. This book does not answer my question but goes into the memories of the author, Lucia, who was raised as Christian Scientist and what happens when her mother starts to withdraw and pulls back from her non-practicing Christian Science children. I found the book very interesting but there were several parts that made me angry to know that Lucia’s mothers cancer and pain could have been treated in what I consider a humane way. The part of the book that really sickened me was when Lucia’s mother was finally allowed to a hospital for treatment and imagining the state she was in from the description from Lucia and especially how she describes a couple of the incidents with some of the hospital personnel. Overall the book was very good and gave an inside glimpse of what growing up and moving away from the religion of Christian Science. This is a wonderful book to read since it allows the reader to walk in the shoes of someone else. less

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