Praise for JESUS LAND…

“This is one of the best memoirs in years. I foisted it on friends and strangers alike, and everyone loved its marvelous story, writing, humor, truth.”
—Anne Lamott

“Julia Scheeres has written a love story that is as romantic and as sad as any recent memoir you’ll read; the fact that JESUS LAND tells of the relationship between the author and her brother makes it no less so. What Scheeres’ devastating book maps out is the story of this thwarted relationship, which somehow survives every twisted setback and deprivation to emerge intact…. It’s tough going, but life-affirming.”
—The San Francisco Chronicle (Full article)

“Sibling bond is at the core of JESUS LAND, Scheeres’s gritty, heart-wrenching memoir…. A lesser writer would have buckled under the weight of this story… A page turner… Heart-stopping and enraging… There is much praise, these days, for the detached, quietly elegant narrative. But there is little mention of the power a well-tended rage can bring to a good story… Striking… Focused, justified and without a trace of self-pity. Shot through with poignancy…”
—New York Times Book Review

“JESUS LAND is a harrowing memoir, a survivor’s testimonial, as well as a harsh look at the seamy underbelly of fundamentalist Christianity. But above all, it is a love story… The facts of Scheeres’ story are horrific and heartbreaking, but what makes JESUS LAND remarkable is her plain, straightforward, unsentimental point of view… what makes JESUS LAND unique and easy to relate to is its unadorned, dark humor… Many of us could have had the misfortune of stumbling into JESUS LAND but few would have the spirit to survive.”
—Los Angeles Times

“[A] rough, brutal, and shockingly good memoir… In the end Scheeres can’t save David. But she does save herself, turning her life into art by crafting a searingly alive memoir that’s a testament to his memory… JESUS LAND is matter-of-fact, clear-eyed, and compassionate, without vindictiveness, which is, of course, what real Christian charity is about.”
—Boston Globe

“JESUS LAND is a fascinating study of how so-called discipline warps young minds… poignant and [more] important to share.”
—Seattle Weekly

“[JESUS LAND] is a book readers are sure to be talking about, and references to such titles as 'Running With Scissors' and 'Girl, Interrupted' will likely be drawn. Scheeres succeeds at relating a harrowing life story with effortless humor and wisdom.”
—Chicago Tribune

“Unflinchingly honest…”
—Washington Post

“[A] marvelous remembrance… JESUS LAND will break your heart and mend it again, but it won't stop haunting you.”
—Entertainment Weekly (A)

“[A] gripping memoir.”
—Essence

"A harrowing memoir of coming-of-age amid religious zealotry...Scheeres manages to balance her righteous rage against fanatical hypocrisy with a smart sense of humor...poignant and heartbreaking."
—Mother Jones

"[A] darkly comic memoir."
—GQ

"A frank and compelling portrait...Tinged with sadness yet pervaded by a sense of triumph, Scheeres's book is a crisply written and earnest examination of the meaning of family and Christian values, and announces the author as a writer to watch."
—Publishers Weekly

"A real-life coming-of-age tale is told in Jesus Land: A Memoir by California journalist Julia Scheeres, who looks back with journalistic clarity and literary grace at her teenage years."
—PW Daily

"The road out of an intolerant small town leads straight to a faith-based reform school in journalist Scheeres's scarifying memoir...A bristly summoning of unpretty events, conveyed with remarkable placidity."
—Kirkus

"Julia Scheeres' beautifully-written memoir took my breath away—for the cruelties she suffered, for the courage it took to survive and tell her story, and for her enduring, sparkling faith. She is able to describe the everyday details of her experience with a clear, candid eye, and without bitterness—making her story vividly alive, at turns heart-breaking and humorous."
—Laura Fraser, author of An Italian Affair

"Jesus Land is an extraordinary memoir not just for the jaw-dropping tale it depicts, but for the wit and honesty, and literary courage within it pages. This book will make readers think of the Liar’s Club and Bastard Out of Carolina, but there’s nothing derivative in it. For all its hardship and terror, it is above all a love story. Scheeres is the real thing, and this is a book that should last for a long, long time."
—Tom Barbash, Author of The Last Good Chance and On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, & 9/11: A Story of Loss & Renewal

"The grace and emotional brawn that carried Julia Scheeres through the pummeling brutality of her youth has enabled her to tell  the tale with a measured intensity that pulls you to her side and keeps you there. I could not stop reading this book."
—Mary Roach, author of Stiff

"In this brilliant, sorrow-filled, race-tangled memoir, Ms. Scheeres' story-telling skill makes you cheer for her and her adopted brother every step of the way. You will especially love the sections about Ms. Scheeres' exile to a Dominican Republic reform school—inhabited by many emotionally-uneven adults who prove the adage that some Christians are too heavenly minded to be any earthly good."
       —Joe Loya, author of The Man Who Outgrew His Prison Cell

"This book will break your heart and mend it again. Julia Scheeres peels back the shiny, plastic veneer of fundamentalist Christianity to reveal the intolerance and hypocrisy that can lie beneath. She does this with a merciless eye for detail, and an uncanny ability to evoke the essence of the Midwest. However, it is the exquisite candor and humor which makes Jesus Land so worth the reading. That, and the simple love that shines out of every page."
—Lisa Reardon, author of Billy Dead and The Mercy Killers

Praise from booksellers…

"I spent the whole day yesterday reading Jesus Land, which I liked so much because I liked Julia so much. She's a tough and wise narrator with a marvelous sense of humor. I had to remind myself that this was non-fiction, that real people experienced this."
—Mark Laframboise, Politics and Prose Bookstore

"I am still thinking of Jesus Land long after finishing it. I was drawn in by how genuine it was, and I am in absolute awe of the violence, racism and neglect in their outwardly Christian family. As I was reading I wished that I could have stepped in to save them all."
—Wendy Manning, Third Place Books

"This unsparing memoir tells a sad and poignant tale of abuse, alienation and ultimately personal redemption that was reminiscent of Mary Karr's The Liar's Club. Julia's always hopeful voice lent humanity to the story and made me imagine her as a flower that grows between the unforgiving cracks in a sidewalk."
—Danielle Marshall, Powell's Books