Jesus Land a bestseller in the UK!
I just got word from my UK publisher that Jesus Land -- titled "Another Hour on a Sunday Morning" over there -- will debut on the Times of London's
bestseller list at #10 in paperback non-fiction this Sunday. Amazing. This, in a country I've never even visited. How strange. Thank you, England!
5 Comments:
Dear Julia,
I finished reading Jesus Land several days ago but can't stop thinking about David or get over the sadness and unfairness of his premature death. Please tell us, in the short two years (or less) that transpired between his running away from the boarding school in IN and his death, was he happy? Was he able to create a better life for himself? Certainly he was lucky to have you, but it kills me to think he never had the chance to experience the many joys so many of us take for granted -- friendships, relationships, freedom from racism.
Thank you,
Carolina C
Julia,
I am about three quarters through the book, which I picked up at London Paddington railway station when my train was delayed this week. So I guess I am one of the people who has helped make a UK best seller....
I'm 28 and was brought up in a fundamentalist family, which, whilst not as violent, has painful paralells to your story.
I have just created a blog account soley to allow me to say thanks for the book, it has moved me deeply. I just wish I could talk back to you in the book, I so know what you are talking about.
I am feeling so sad now, becuase I was still thinking David had moved on, and was now living a better life somewhere. I can see, sadly, this is not the case from your Blog and website.
Congratulations on your little girl. I have a little boy of alonst exactly the same age, and share your sentiments about their futures.
Warmest regards from the UK.
Ian
Dear Julia,
I read your book this weekend - I just could not put it down and this morning logged onto the internet to see whether I could find out more about you and David and the short period between leaving the school and his death. I felt such a strong identity with you and your brother - and was astonished to find I was born just one day before you...
Thank you so much for writing this book - David's memory does indeed live on!
Pippa
Congratulations, Julia! I just read your memoir and, having lived much of my life in Fundamentalist Evangelical circles, was deeply moved. Glad it's a bestseller in the UK; it should be, everywhere! Thank you for telling your story.
Hello. Prompt how to get acquainted with the girl it to me to like. But does not know about it
I have read through one history
Each of you has your personal story; it is your history. Keeping a diary or writing your feelings in a special notebook is a wonderful way to learn how to think and write about who you are -- to develop your own identity and voice.
People of all ages are able to do this. Your own history is special because of your circumstances: your cultural, racial, religious or ethnic background. Your story is also part of human history, a part of the story of the dignity and worth of all human beings. By putting opinions and thoughts into words, you, too, can give voice to your inner self and strivings.
A long entry by Anne Frank on April 5, 1944, written after more than a year and a half of hiding from the Nazis, describes the range of emotions 14-year-old Anne is experiencing:
". . . but the moment I was alone I knew I was going to cry my eyes out. I slid to the floor in my nightgown and began by saying my prayers, very fervently. Then I drew my knees to my chest, lay my head on my arms and cried, all huddled up on the bare floor. A loud sob brought me back down to earth, and I choked back my tears, since I didn't want anyone next door to hear me . . .
"And now it's really over. I finally realized that I must do my school work to keep from being ignorant, to get on in life, to become a journalist, because that's what I want! I know I can write. A few of my stories are good, my descriptions of the Secret Annex are humorous, much of my diary is vivid and alive, but . . . it remains to be seen whether I really have talent . . .
"When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived! But, and that's a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, because writing allows me to record everything, all my thoughts, ideals and fantasies.
"I haven't worked on Cady's Life for ages. In my mind I've worked out exactly what happens next, but the story doesn't seem to be coming along very well. I might never finish it, and it'll wind up in the wastepaper basket or the stove. That's a horrible thought, but then I say to myself, "At the age of 14 and with so little experience, you can't write about philosophy.' So onward and upward, with renewed spirits. It'll all work out, because I'm determined to write! Yours, Anne M. Frank
For those of you interested in reading some of Anne Frank's first stories and essays, including a version of Cady's Life, see Tales From the Secret Annex (Doubleday, 1996). Next: Reviewing and revising your writing
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