Escuela Caribe preyed upon parents' fears of secular culture to recruit students. Parents could send their kids to a place where they'd be sheltered from evil secular influences - sex, drugs, alcohol, and a questioning mentality. A place where children… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share Image
My parents subscribed to both Time and Newsweek and in 1978, I remember the covers of both that December were of the bodies in the jungle. The fact that many of the people who drank the cyanide - as well as Jim Jones himself - were originally from Indiana, that stayed with me. I wanted to know why they did… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share
I didn't fit into the Christian college my parents sent me to. I felt tarnished by tragedy, between my brother's death and Escuela Caribe, and everyone else seemed so carefree and happy and praising God. I couldn't stand happy people for a long time, and was plagued by chronic migraines and stomach aches. I'd say between age thirteen and twenty-three… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share
Escuela Caribe preyed upon parents' fears of secular culture to recruit students. Parents could send their kids to a place where they'd be sheltered… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share Image
Jonestown was supposed to be a great socialist experiment, a place where all the evil "isms" would be eradicated: racism, sexism, elitism. This appealed… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share Image
Jim Jones used highly-edited videos and photos of Jonestown, showing what a supposed Eden it was. People were interviewed smiling and working in the fields, telling other church members to hurry down and join them. These interviews were staged; the people were told exactly what to say. Truth is, Jonestown never even produced enough food to feed everyone, and people… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share
I only wish my brother David had survived to experience Berkeley as well. No one would flinch here if we were to walk down… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share Image
“Seems we can never just be brother and sister like in other families. Our whole lives, people have felt an urge to make up… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share Image
That's why I think it's important to revisit the story of Jonestown. I hope readers come away with a greater compassion for Jim Jones's… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share Image
In my view, the problem with many conservative Christian parents is that they won't allow their children to have a different worldview from their… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share Image
I was working on a satirical novel about a charismatic preacher who takes over a small Indiana town. Then I remembered Jim Jones was… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share Image
Jim Jones wanted his people to believe the establishment was trying to kill him because whites were threatened by his message of racial equality.… — Julia Scheeres Copy Share Image
