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.
