 Posted Sunday, May 02, 2004 4:22 PM
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I just finished reading Learning to Drive, by Mary Hays. The main character is a young woman, Charlotte, who comes from a Christian Science family and is in the process of leaving her CS beliefs behind for the second time. I'll refer you to book reviews on amazon.com for details of the story, but just thought I'd bring attention to the book.
Learning to Drive provides an amusing, yet sobering, look into the inherently disfunctional world of Christian Science. Characters include Charlotte's mother, who died of untreated diabetes; Charlotte's practitioner sister, who fits the classic nice-but-insensitive CS personality; Charlotte's non-CS husband, from whom she separates because of the differences in their beliefs; and a host of interesting and delightfully odd friends and relatives. Charlotte is haunted by "the Porter," sent by Mrs. Eddy to help her stay on track in her study of Christian Science.
The book contains numerous quotes from Science and Health (part of family conversation and of Charlotte's thinking). They, together with the story itself, provide insight into the world of Christian Science.
Hays did a nice job interjecting humor into the story. I enjoy well-done absurdity, and there is a lot of it in the book.
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Posted Sunday, May 02, 2004 5:27 PM
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| Speaking of.....I gave my copy of your book to someone who needed it. Is it still available on Amazon? I may keep two on hand just in case.
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Posted Sunday, May 02, 2004 7:55 PM
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| Yes, my book (The Religion That Kills) is still on amazon.com. Here's the link.
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Posted Thursday, May 06, 2004 9:12 PM
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Linda.....
Just picked up Learning to Drive that I reserved at my local branch library. The first four pages about Porter are priceless....
Thanks for the heads up.....
Nyoka
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Posted Saturday, May 08, 2004 6:50 PM
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Linda,
I hope this ties into this thread and I shouldn't have started a new one, but there is another book that I am reading which has been really helpful to me. It's by Lloyd John Olgive and it's an older book (about 15 years or so). It is called "The Bush is Still Burning." A very good friend recommended it to me several years ago when I was still dabbling in CS and not sure enough about reading non-CS literature to read it with any sense of an open mind. It sat on my shelf until about 2 years ago. When I finally did read it, it was truly life-changing. It discusses the different places in the Bible where Jesus uses the "I Am" statements (like, I Am the bread of life, etc). There are many, and they all present very important concepts for those who want to demonstrate and grow in the Word and their understanding of it.
I'm in the middle of reading it again and still am getting new things from it. I've filled a notebook with things that I am learning from it. I keep re-reading chapters and checking out the study guide at the back of the book. I got my copy on Amazon.com. My friend has long ago asked for her copy back and I'm so glad to have my own because I've highlighted it all over the place and the margins are all full of my notes. Mr. Ogilve has written several other books, none of which I've read, but if they are as good as this one, I surely will want to check them out. Anyways, I just thought I'd mention it. Has anyone read it besides me? -- Grace
PS I've got Learning to Drive on reserve at our library now. (Thanks, Nyoka, for the idea).
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