Don't Call Me Sister!

DON'T CALL ME SISTER!
By Marion Field
Highland Books. 221 pages. £6.99
ISBN 1 897913 45 1

This title might suggest the story of someone who left her family. No - as an adult, Marion leaves her cradle church which had dictated her thoughts and behaviour. All her decisions were made on the basis of what her church leaders would think, not Christ. The fellowship appeared caring, yet in reality it held captive a very creative woman.
In the 1930s, Marion was born to parents who were members of the Exclusive Brethren. Visits to sporting events, 'outsiders' homes (those not of the same persuasion), use of the radio or record-player were Not Approved. By the time she was a teenager, she had begun to find it claustrophobic, but a system where the infallibility of the leadership was deeply ingrained was not easily questioned and even less easily dislodged. Breaking free was kick-started by the tightening of the exclusive laws in the early 1960s. Inevitably, Marion felt a sense of insecurity because she no longer belonged to a close-knit group.
Almost a self-absorbed book, we get only glimpses into the lives and emotions of those around her. Perhaps that happens when one is struggling for survival spiritually and emotionally. She has a creative spirit and writes well. The focus is on her relationship with the church, not Christ, with guilt as the dominant emotion. Unfortunately, the issues of the exercise of authority and discipline in the church are not explored. I felt rain throughout the first two-thirds of the book, but then the rain stops and quite suddenly the sun bursts through in Africa and keeps shining until the last sentence.
While Marion hopes her story will be a warning, I'm not sure. So much detail makes the book person-specific. And I am mindful of T.S. Eliot's view that 'men learn little from other's experiences' (Murder in the Cathedral). For her, the telling was necessary. Due to the amount of Christianese, I would not give this to a non-Christian. I think it has limited use, except to generate sympathy for others struggling to break free from any Thought Police.

Barbara Barron,
Camberwell

© Evangelicals Now - August 1999
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