Kepler's 2020 Project in the News:
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This is a terrifying book, and you need to read it. I was not yet born when Jonestown happened, and as such I suppose I have always been sheltered from the horror of what happened. For me, Jonestown has always been a poor punchline to a Kool-Aid joke. After reading A Thousand Lives, it's a joke I'll never make again. There's so much to gather from reading this book - from the overwhelming racism they faced that made African-Americans susceptible prey to Jim Jones' predatory nature, to the lofty ideals that drew progressive individuals who you would think should know better. Yet, Scheeres lays bare how Jones was able to convince nearly 1000 people to join him in a jungle - and what's terrifying about it is that she makes it so incredibly understandable. It would be SO easy to become part of a church that begins by preaching tolerance, love, and helping the less fortunate. And if some small part becomes a little odd, well, isn't the whole justified? And if you've been treated as lesser because of your skin colour, well, wouldn't you be more inclined to believe someone who says you're just as good as anyone else? And if you believe in this person, this preacher, and he gives you reason to keep believing, why not follow him to what he tells you would be paradise? I think we often want to believe that nothing like this could ever happen to us, that only disturbed people could become part of what ends up a death cult. To realize that a series of small steps can produce such a horrific outcome is more terrifying than any Hollywood horror story could ever hope to be. Simply reading the recountings of the community in the days before the mass suicide induced in me this incredible sense of dread. The hopelessness of those stuck in the Guyana jungle permeates every page. The finale is heart-rending, even though you know what's coming. I didn't want to keep reading, and yet I felt I must. We owe it to the survivors to bear witness to this horror, and to learn to keep watch to make sure that we, or our loved ones, are never fooled by the next Jim Jones. --Sarah L. |
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