gmd316's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
This is dark!! I wish she focused more on her choices to not join the church etc but it’s raw and real
natalie10224's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
3.0
Please see review on Amazon.com as part of the Vine program.
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
I tried to describe this book to a friend yesterday, but first I had to explain the difference between being a Christian who is also a scientist and being a Christian Scientist.
Greenhouse grew up in the world of the latter: her parents believed that germs did not exist, illness did not exist, god's children (not sure they would have phrased it this way) were perfect and thus could not get sick. You didn't have chicken pox: you were working through something. You didn't go to the doctor: you went to a Christian Science 'practitioner' who...prayed over you, I guess.
As Greenhouse tells it, although this was the world in which she grew up, she never believed in it, and she moved away from the church (as did her siblings) as soon as she was old enough to make her own decisions. Her parents stayed in, though, which meant small rifts—and then a much, much bigger rift when Greenhouse's mother became visibly ill and both Greenhouse's parents refused to acknowledge it.
And the thing is: every so often, the media will tell a story of a child whose parents withhold medical treatment because of religious views, and it going to court, and the courts stepping in to get the child treatment—but what do you do when the ill person in question is an adult, legally responsible for their own medical decisions?
I think this is one that would have taken well to a lot more research brought in. Greenhouse focusses on her own family's story, but because her upbringing seems to have been pretty standard outside the no-medical-care part of things, the first half of the book feels a bit slow. I'd have been curious about more of the history of Christian Science and how it plays out now. I'm also fascinated by the idea of Tenacre, which seems to be the Christian Science version of a hospital—that is, no medicine or doctors or machines, but...lots of 'nurses' who pray? That's a book in and of itself.
Greenhouse grew up in the world of the latter: her parents believed that germs did not exist, illness did not exist, god's children (not sure they would have phrased it this way) were perfect and thus could not get sick. You didn't have chicken pox: you were working through something. You didn't go to the doctor: you went to a Christian Science 'practitioner' who...prayed over you, I guess.
As Greenhouse tells it, although this was the world in which she grew up, she never believed in it, and she moved away from the church (as did her siblings) as soon as she was old enough to make her own decisions. Her parents stayed in, though, which meant small rifts—and then a much, much bigger rift when Greenhouse's mother became visibly ill and both Greenhouse's parents refused to acknowledge it.
And the thing is: every so often, the media will tell a story of a child whose parents withhold medical treatment because of religious views, and it going to court, and the courts stepping in to get the child treatment—but what do you do when the ill person in question is an adult, legally responsible for their own medical decisions?
I think this is one that would have taken well to a lot more research brought in. Greenhouse focusses on her own family's story, but because her upbringing seems to have been pretty standard outside the no-medical-care part of things, the first half of the book feels a bit slow. I'd have been curious about more of the history of Christian Science and how it plays out now. I'm also fascinated by the idea of Tenacre, which seems to be the Christian Science version of a hospital—that is, no medicine or doctors or machines, but...lots of 'nurses' who pray? That's a book in and of itself.
desirosie's review against another edition
4.0
A quick and interesting read. I enjoyed the author’s style and open self-reflection. The first part about her childhood was well-done, the vignettes setting the stage for the central focus: her mother’s illness and death. That was, unsurprisingly, difficult for me. Although completely different situations, there are subtle similarities in the what-ifs and lack of access to care that could have altered the course of my mother’s life, as well as my own and that of the rest of my family.
The last part, an extended epilogue of sorts specifically talks about the need to reconcile the writing of the book and the author’s need to tell her story while managing relationships with her family who had their own stories.
The last part, an extended epilogue of sorts specifically talks about the need to reconcile the writing of the book and the author’s need to tell her story while managing relationships with her family who had their own stories.
nferre's review
3.0
More than a memoir of how the author left the church, it's a familiar memoir of what the Church and its teachings did to divide her family. Lucia had had enough of the Christian Science Church by the time she was a teenager in high school. Respectful of her parents, she kept most of her feelings to herself until her mother fell very ill. Then all hell broke loose.
My grandmother, born in 1866, lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, the home of CS founder, Mary Baker Eddey. She became a follower and died an awful, painful death without medical assistance and against the wishes of her husband in 1935. Her daughter, my aunt, lived to be 98 years old, in a wheelchair for the last 20 years of her life. She had false teeth and eye glasses, but refused medical care. Her daughter, my cousin, was diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1980s. Their solution was to pray, sell the house, buy an RV and travel the country and stay happy. As my cousin got sicker, she and her husband decided to seek medical help. It was too late and she died in her mid 40s.
I have never understood this religion and I can't say that this book enlightened me. I still scratch my head in wonderment at how normal, intelligent people can follow this sort of very unscientific religion.
My grandmother, born in 1866, lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, the home of CS founder, Mary Baker Eddey. She became a follower and died an awful, painful death without medical assistance and against the wishes of her husband in 1935. Her daughter, my aunt, lived to be 98 years old, in a wheelchair for the last 20 years of her life. She had false teeth and eye glasses, but refused medical care. Her daughter, my cousin, was diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1980s. Their solution was to pray, sell the house, buy an RV and travel the country and stay happy. As my cousin got sicker, she and her husband decided to seek medical help. It was too late and she died in her mid 40s.
I have never understood this religion and I can't say that this book enlightened me. I still scratch my head in wonderment at how normal, intelligent people can follow this sort of very unscientific religion.
mollyjordan's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book to be a highly emotional read. The thoughts and practices of Christian Science that were depicted in the memoir go so against the grain of modern medicine and thought, that you want to reach into the book and shake the followers. I felt the pain that Lucia and her family went through almost as if they were my relatives. To suffer in agony with only prayer and ellivated thoughts to rely on for healing is an absorb concept that broke my heart at times. Brutal and cruel are two words that came into my mind while watching the mother "progress" in Christian Science terms and rapidly deteriorate by medical standards. The opposition is striking.
theartolater's review against another edition
4.0
A decent book about a woman's childhood as a Christian Scientist, and dealing with her parents as an adult. A fairly straightforward book overall, the book only really picks up when her entire family has to start making a moral decision about a parent's health while at odds with the basic beliefs of the religion. Worth reading if you're interested in learning a few new things.