“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have
been,
accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to
grow.”
- William Shakespeare
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| Jean Postlethwaite |
I spent the afternoon going through boxes of old photos taken while I was a reporter, looking for pictures of Jean. In the nine years I did that job (first with my own paper, then with the Interlake Spectator) I wrote about her a number of times, features that told the story of a determined entrepreneur with a kind spirit and generous heart. Over the years our friendship grew and she became a quiet mentor, someone I looked to for perspective and encouragement.
Jean believed in me.
And I expect those same words rest in the hearts of everyone who knew her well.
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She believed in you every second of the way. Gramma loved you so dearly.. Thank you for being so special to her xoxo
ReplyDeleteLara
Thank you Lara.
DeleteI was pretty nervous releasing "Where Children Run." The morning after the launch in Ashern I went to the restaurant and asked for Jean. Nobody knew exactly where she was but thought she might be in the office. I went in and she was sitting kinda hidden with her back to the door. She was reading the book. Her hair was all messed up - she turned around and said that she'd been reading all night - "couldn't put it down." I'll never forget that wonderful feeling of relief.
As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, your book "Where Children Run" has so many false statements about their religious beliefs. I was shocked that you did not do more research about what they really do teach and believe. I have been a Witness since I was three years old. I was born in 1949. I was baptized in 1967. There were so many things that were wrong about how we really view "headship". We do not believe in a woman staying with a man who beats her or her children. We also do not condone a woman living with a man that she is not married to, regardless of the circumstances. There were so many things wrong with this story as far as our true beliefs, I do not know where to start! What a sad witness for our true beliefs. I do feel for those poor children and for their Mother. But at the same time, "Shame on her for staying with that man and allowing him to treat her children that way." I was in a brief abusive marriage and had a child by my first husband. I was never encouraged to stay with him. I left to save myself and my child. I am thankful that I did. I later married a loving man who also serves Jehovah and we had two more children and he adopted my daughter. No one has to stay in an abusive relationship.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment on "Where Children Run." I am glad that you were able to leave your abusive marriage and that you are in a loving relationship now and that you received support from your church to do so. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. "Where Children Run" was told from the perspective of the Pischke twins and a few of their siblings. They recall that members of the local congregation did not help them, and in fact, their interference in Caroline's life when it came to Domko made matters worse. What prompted the twins to approach me in the first place is that they carried the stigma of their childhoods into adulthood and that members of their church were particularly critical of them throughout their lives. It wasn't so much a criticism of the Jehovah's Witness faith on a whole, but rather, the members of that particular congregation. It is well-known that children remember well the people who were good to them when they were children, and the ones who were not. Unfortunately, their negative experiences with these church elders continued on well into adulthood and are included in the sequel, "When Memories Remain." And you are correct, the true beliefs were not fully explored in the books because love and kindness was not what they saw.
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