Leaving the Witness cover art

Leaving the Witness

Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

 "À la Tara Westover's Educated, Scorah's pensive, ultimately liberating memoir chronicles her formative years as a Jehovah's Witness...and captures the bewilderment of belief and the bliss of self-discovery."--O, The Oprah Magazine, Named one of "The Best Books by Women of Summer 2019"

"Scorah's book, the bravery of which cannot be overstated, is an earnest one, fueled by a plucky humor and a can-do spirit that endears. Her tale, though an exploration of extremity, is highly readable and warm."--The New York Times Book Review

A riveting memoir of losing faith and finding freedom while a covert missionary in one of the world's most restrictive countries.

A third-generation Jehovah's Witness, Amber Scorah had devoted her life to sounding God's warning of impending Armageddon. She volunteered to take the message to China, where the preaching she did was illegal and could result in her expulsion or worse. Here, she had some distance from her community for the first time. Immersion in a foreign language and culture--and a whole new way of thinking--turned her world upside down, and eventually led her to lose all that she had been sure was true.

As a proselytizer in Shanghai, using fake names and secret codes to evade the authorities' notice, Scorah discreetly looked for targets in public parks and stores. To support herself, she found work at a Chinese language learning podcast, hiding her real purpose from her coworkers. Now with a creative outlet, getting to know worldly people for the first time, she began to understand that there were other ways of seeing the world and living a fulfilling life. When one of these relationships became an "escape hatch," Scorah's loss of faith culminated in her own personal apocalypse, the only kind of ending possible for a Jehovah's Witness.

Shunned by family and friends as an apostate, Scorah was alone in Shanghai and thrown into a world she had only known from the periphery--with no education or support system. A coming of age story of a woman already in her thirties, this unforgettable memoir examines what it's like to start one's life over again with an entirely new identity. It follows Scorah to New York City, where a personal tragedy forces her to look for new ways to find meaning in the absence of religion. With compelling, spare prose, Leaving the Witness traces the bittersweet process of starting over, when everything one's life was built around is gone. Christianity Women China
All stars
Most relevant
This is very well written and read by the author. The experiences and situations are unique yet relatable to so many of us who are now exjws.

I think active JW’s feel that ‘apostates’ blithely give up their faith hurriedly so as to pursue ‘the things of the world’ which betrays a complete lack of insight into the very long, angst ridden process of attempting to reaffirm and strengthen our faith while painfully listening to our doubts and eventually leaving the religion behind for concrete and valid reasons.

Amber Scorah encapsulates this struggle very well while in the unique environment of a country where Watchtowers work is banned.

Excellent book which I’d recommend.

Very real, honest & authentic story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was brought up a witness but left the JW faith 19years ago, however it’s still left me with lifelong guilt and niggling doubt that I’d done the wrong thing. On reading this, that has now finally gone away. Thank you Amber.

Thank you

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was like a much needed friend, that stood beside me in my own exrication from the cult. It helped make the isolation and fear that is an inevitable part of any ecit journey feel less daunting and easier to bear. Her resilience, determination and love for life shines through and gave me hope. I would recommend to anyone that wants to understand the inner journey of what it's like to wake up from indoctrination, brainwashing or any other form of mind control from a group or individual.

Delightful, moving, lyrical.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A great Insight into the psychology of why someone would join a cult-and the emotional toll of leaving.

Great Insight

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliantly narrated by the author, Leaving the Witness is a powerful and moving account of leaving a high control group, ironically in totalitarian China. Loads of insights into the country as well as the Jehovah's Witness religion. A gut punch of an ending too, after escaping the clutches of the cult. Highly recommended.

Not just for Ex JWs

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews