The Spanking Room: A Child's Eye View of the Jehovah's Witnesses

This is an outstanding book and very well written. I highly recommend it to anyone with the slightest association with Jehovah's Witnesses or anyone who is contemplating having a bible study with them. I was a JW for nearly 20 years and met many women who loved the Watchtower religion more than they loved their children. In fact, it was because of the mental and physical abuse of children that I began to question the Watchtower doctrines and was finally able to break the chains of mind control and escape from the Watchtower. Read this book!!!

When I received an inquiry about reviewing this book I have to admit that I hesitated. I explained that given my own experiences with Jehovah's Witnesses I didn't feel that I would be an objective reviewer. Then after the book arrived I once again held off starting it because I wasn't really in the mood for a shrill diatribe and tell-all by a former victim. Then I started actually reading it- and couldn't put it down. Sure, some of it was because it was like witnessing a prolonged train wreck, but it was the humor and high quality of the writing that held my interest. It is amazing that the author survived such toxic, dysfunctional religion and family life. I knew that the Witnesses were messed up, but I never suspected the degree to which they had institutionalized child abuse. I couldn't identify with such horrific physical and emotional abuse, but what I could identify with was the fundamentalist abuse and distortion of religion by a parent with mental health issues. That spoke to me. Not to this extreme, but it spoke to me. What really stayed with me was how the Witnesses could quote a spiritual principle that I adhere to- and then manage to totally pervert and distort it to the point that it was the complete opposite of what it should represent. Nor could such distortions be questioned. WHY is not in the vocabulary of this organization. If it is handed down from Brooklyn by shadowy anonymous elders (who make the Mormon elders look like paragons of transparency) then it is unquestionable truth. Unless of course you want to have the demons beat out of you... It is amazing that the author turned out as well as he did. He did so in spite of his upbringing and definitely not because of it. He even managed to achieve a healthy religious life and unquestionably sincere relationship with God (though definitely not "Jehovah God.") This book is far from shrill or depressing, it is inspirational. I also know that it will make me think twice about inappropriately forcing my own spiritual views on others (besides, the author's mother never had a single convert from decades of going door-to-door...)

If you've ever wondered what motivates that regiment of ardent bell ringing, pamphlet pushing Jehovah's Witness that appear on a regular basis at your front door you definitely need to read William Coburn's new book `The Spanking Room', an unexpectedly shocking 208 page paperback gifting the reader with an intimate autobiographical account and expose revealing to the uninitiated some of the irrational teachings and apprehensible practices being carried out within the confines of those unassuming worship centers known as the Kingdom Hall and the homes of its membership. While the majority of the "worldly" masses are left to wonder about the unorthodox activities of this mysteries group, the apocalyptic mindset and end-times mentality of this self-alienating religious flock is laid bare by the author in a disturbing and enlightening manner that will grasp a firm hold on the reader from the first page and carry you along on Coburn's torturous childhood journey to the very end. This is not a tale for the faint of heart or for someone who wants to curl up on the bed for a light-hearted read before drifting off to dreamland. `The Spanking Room' is a story of physical and emotional abuse brought about by a fanatical, unbridled religious zealot enslaved to the teachings of the Watchtower Society. You'll witness the slow and methodical destruction of an average American family wrought by a woman, wife and mother who forsakes the love of her husband and two sons when she decides to give herself heart and soul to an organization demanding complete control of its membership. The first aspect of Mr. Coburn's story that struck me was the realization that such pain and suffering could be perpetuated on a child here in the USA. What makes the situation even more monsterous is the fact that this aberrant physical and emotional torment dealt out by William's Mother was not only condoned but expected by this religious institution. This is Godly behavior? `The Spanking Room' is a real page turner and definitely an eye opener for the non-Jehovah's Wintness. The author's wonderfully open hearted writing style and "gallows humor" provides a disarming counter balance to the horrible events that unfold before the reader. His account is thoroughly engaging, shockingly revealing, incredibly insightful and intensely personal. If you've ever wondered about those nicely dressed, smiling faces at your front door think again before inviting them in. Or at least read this book first.

Coburn, William, "The Spanking Room: A Child's View of the Jehovah's Witnesses", Winepress Publishing, 2008. Well written but Not Pretty Amos Lassen I must admit that I knew nothing about Jehovah's Witnesses before I read this book with the exception of knowing they ring doorbells are love to proselytize. I actually have only known one Jehovah's Witness personally---a guy I taught with on the college level and I had always suspected that he was a bit strange. I am sure he felt the same about me as there are not many Jews in Arkansas much less those that wear skull caps to teach. We never spoke to each other very much but now I understand why----Jehovah's Witnesses are very limited in what they can talk about. As I read William Coburn's book I found myself wondering why someone did not speak up. What I read about the religion itself bothered me but even more reading about how the author was treated as a young boy did not just bother me--it made me very angry. The book is a memoir which tells the story of young Coburn and his psychotic, neurotic mother who used the religion as a way to punish her son in the cruelest of ways. She used both mental and physical cruelty and the abuse went on and on and sanctioned by Jehovah's Witnesses. Coburn's mother converted to the religion when the boy was four and with that conversion came a fourteen year reign of terror for William. The family--Billy, his older brother, Joe and his mother and father lived in Redding Connecticut and all was fine until his mother discovered "the Witnesses". It was at that point that the mistreatment of the children began in ways that are horrific. The father did not share the religion with his wife and he tries to have a say in the way the children were raised and disciplined but was not very successful. Billy became somewhat of a loner. He was humiliated at school and few friends. He somehow managed to survive the abuse but it was not until his father divorced his mother that he was able to face her and tell her that he had no intention of becoming a Witness. There is no question that it had a tremendous negative effect on him but he managed to overcome and find a wife and build a family. He remains a Christian. You also learn about the religion and some of its doctrines and rules and how the Watchtower Society controls its membership. Coburn writes clearly and concisely and the narrative never lags. In fact I read the book in one sitting (with my mouth open most of the time). As close as Coburn is to the subject, he is objective and he reveals a great deal about a sect--or as I prefer, a cult--that many of us know little about.

This book is both disturbing and uplifting. It is disturbing in the sense that it chronicles years of abuse the author suffered at the hands of his mother and it is uplifting in the sense that he was able to overcome it. The fact that Coburn was able to write this book is an indicator of that. It is also clear that his mother most likely suffered from a form of mental illness and even more unfortunate that she was able to find a socially acceptable way to express it. While you read this book, only the most hard-hearted, unfeeling of personalities can avoid feeling the greatest sympathy for the boy Coburn. It tears at your heart to know what he went through, not understanding what was happening. He is fortunate that his father fought the abuse the best way he could until finally giving up and leaving when Coburn was in his early teens. By then, he was old enough to make up his own mind and that was what no doubt saved him. It is sad to understand that for every person such as Coburn who makes it out of such situations and lives a normal life there are others who do not. One can only hope that this tale of triumph will make it easier for the others to do so.