Jesus Land

This heartbreaking memoir by Julia Scheeres tells the story of growing up in 1970s Indiana in a strict Calvinist household with her two adopted black brothers. Julia and especially her brothers suffer at the hands of the s0-called Christian values of their parents and with racism in the larger society. The younger of her brothers, David, is shipped off to the Dominican Republic to a Christian reform school. Julia is sent not far behind. As bad as the situation with her parents was, the atmosphere at the school is even worse. Julia and David rely upon each other to make it through their experience. Much like The Glass Castle, Scheeres' account is clear-eyed and without anger or judgment and her writing is beautifully evocative. Most of all, the book is a heartbreaking story of a love between a brother and sister that I highly recommend.