Kindle Unlimited: The Community by: N. Jamiyla
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An arresting and emotional memoir about a family’s indoctrination into a religious cult, a daughter coming to terms with a parent’s devastating choices, and the trials ahead in post-9/11 New York.
In 1978, when Jamiyla was two years old, her mother, Ummi, quit her job, converted to Islam with her husband, and moved into an exclusive Muslim society in Brooklyn. Once inside the Community, the family was separated by its powerful and charismatic leader, Dwight York, who was hiding behind the name Imam Isa. Instead of the devotional refuge they’d imagined, the Community was a nightmare of controlled abuse and unspeakable secrets.
Forty years later, Jamiyla was ready to excavate and understand a past buried in bad dreams, disturbing memories, and inexplicable rage. It was a place Ummi never wanted to return to. Jamiyla had to.
Jamiyla’s emotional memoir tells her family’s story of life inside and outside the cult, and of escaping into new challenges as conservative Muslims in the secular Brooklyn they left behind. A harrowing and deeply personal history fraught with racial tension and devastating personal betrayals, The Community is also a hopeful story brimming with Black pride, justice, and the long-overdue healing between a daughter and mother.
In 1978, when Jamiyla was two years old, her mother, Ummi, quit her job, converted to Islam with her husband, and moved into an exclusive Muslim society in Brooklyn. Once inside the Community, the family was separated by its powerful and charismatic leader, Dwight York, who was hiding behind the name Imam Isa. Instead of the devotional refuge they’d imagined, the Community was a nightmare of controlled abuse and unspeakable secrets.
Forty years later, Jamiyla was ready to excavate and understand a past buried in bad dreams, disturbing memories, and inexplicable rage. It was a place Ummi never wanted to return to. Jamiyla had to.
Jamiyla’s emotional memoir tells her family’s story of life inside and outside the cult, and of escaping into new challenges as conservative Muslims in the secular Brooklyn they left behind. A harrowing and deeply personal history fraught with racial tension and devastating personal betrayals, The Community is also a hopeful story brimming with Black pride, justice, and the long-overdue healing between a daughter and mother.
I found this book while trying to finish an achievement via kindle. I was expecting more; I didn't feel this book delivered. We start the book with a religious cult leader Dwight York going to prison for child abuse, then we move on to why her family joined the community and how it worked. It made me sad to know that people out there treat children like this, and they are just brainwashed. It just amazes me how the human brain works, and I find this to be just okay.
As our story unfolds, we see how Chisholm remembers her childhood, her feelings, the racism from wearing clothes that were considered "different," and how she was treated growing up. It seems her family is very dysfunctional, and the price of that is trying to learn how to heal from this while trying to understand how her mother is.
I believe this book she wrote was probably good for mental health; I can't imagine reliving all the memories, finding answers, and finding out who you are so many years later.
She gave us a unique perspective of a black Muslim woman living in New York.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm was born in New York City and grew up in Brooklyn. She graduated from City College in New York City, received her master of arts in teaching from the University of Southern California, and received her MFA from the Writer’s Foundry at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn. As a journalist, Jamiyla has written countless articles focused on culture, race, and women, and she has worked with numerous media companies and publications, including COLORLINES, Essence, TIME’S UP, VIBE, and The Source. Jamiyla is an avid traveler, runner, and language learner. She lives in Brooklyn with her cat Reesies.
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