In the Name of “Mission Work” book about CAM/Mast

[Grace]

It is on Amazon, both Kindle Edition and paperback.

For those that have read it, is this something that Clay Book Store would carry? Or is it too edgy?

I highly doubt if Clay Bookstore would carry it.

[Ernie]

There might be no truth at all in the statement, "'multitudes' telling him what to put in the book".
The statement could also be hyperbole, with the truth being something more like, "the author heard from many people who had many things to say and the author made use of some of this."

And again, I will be happy to learn if the second statement is not true and that what he chose to write about and the opinions he shared are his own and not influenced by others.

[Sliceitup]

There might be no truth at all in the statement, "'multitudes' telling him what to put in the book".
The statement could also be hyperbole, with the truth being something more like, "the author heard from many people who had many things to say and the author made use of some of this."

And again, I will be happy to learn if the second statement is not true and that what he chose to write about and the opinions he shared are his own and not influenced by others.

Just recently a friend of mine wrote a book and asked if I would be willing to read it and give feedback before it is published. I said it would be an honor to do so.

They sent me a chapter and I gave my thoughts and suggestions. They had also reached out to others to ask if they could read it too. And so it’s very possible that for a certain space of time my friend was receiving multiple messages on a daily basis with suggestions of what to include.

A good book is going to be influenced by people other than the author. It is also possible for a book to taken over by the agenda of people other than the author. But just because people gave their input doesn’t mean that the book is any less his own.

[mike]

There might be no truth at all in the statement, "'multitudes' telling him what to put in the book".
The statement could also be hyperbole, with the truth being something more like, "the author heard from many people who had many things to say and the author made use of some of this."

And again, I will be happy to learn if the second statement is not true and that what he chose to write about and the opinions he shared are his own and not influenced by others.

Just recently a friend of mine wrote a book and asked if I would be willing to read it and give feedback before it is published. I said it would be an honor to do so.

They sent me a chapter and I gave my thoughts and suggestions. They had also reached out to others to ask if they could read it too. And so it’s very possible that for a certain space of time my friend was receiving multiple messages on a daily basis with suggestions of what to include.

A good book is going to be influenced by people other than the author. It is also possible for a book to taken over by the agenda of people other than the author. But just because people gave their input doesn’t mean that the book is any less his own.

The devil is in the details with editing. An editor with a free hand can do a lot to a story.

[Signtist]

The devil is in the details with editing. An editor with a free hand can do a lot to a story.

I don't know Andrew, but he has straight up told the author that he has not changed the book except for grammar, punctuation and normal editing to make it flow better. This took a bit more work than sometimes. While the author is very fluent in English, it is not his first language. He posits quite firmly that in no way did he change the meaning or "write" the book.

At this point I can not speak to whether the author faced pressure to change what he wrote from Americans, although the editor certainly faced pressure to drop the work altogether.

[Ernie]

A good book is going to be influenced by people other than the author. It is also possible for a book to taken over by the agenda of people other than the author. But just because people gave their input doesn’t mean that the book is any less his own.

Yes. I understand. And there is nothing wrong with that. I'm just interested in knowing how much is original thinking and how much is from others. I may never know, and that is ok. Me being interested in what took place and how it came about does not mean that what the author writes is bad or should not have been written.

If an author wants to write his own story, then he can go for it and write it as such.

If an author wants to include additional perspective for the story, he can talk to people in oversight, fellow workers, customers/receipients, neighbors, etc. He can talk to folks in favor of the organization, folks not in favor of the organization, level-headed folks who only care about fairness and accuracy, and/or people with an agenda (to either defend or expose something or someone).

In a situation like this (for someone who has experienced harm and neglect of various kinds) the author is not likely to solicit perspective from those who are defending the practices and the culture that allowed the harm and neglect to happen. I wouldn't blame such a person for not doing so.

I have already exposed people and cultures. Sometimes I include the defenses of those who want to water down what I have to say and sometimes I do not. I think the negatives need to be addressed regardless of whatever little attempts were done along the way (that are shared by the defense to cast the thing in a different light). Including the defenses of the offending party can sometimes add legitimacy to the case one is making but sometimes it will only obscure the point one is trying to make and I get that.

[Only an Anz]

Thanks for this review. My wife says we don't need any heavy reading just now, so I will have to (not so patiently) wait. It seems like a polarizing work. Either folks want to read it, or folks do not want to have anything to do with it. There are fascinating responses to it for sure.

This is where I am. I am years behind in reading. I should take the time and catch up.

Right there with you; I have at least 8 books I need to actually read beyond the intro.

[Only an Anz]

There might be no truth at all in the statement, "'multitudes' telling him what to put in the book".
The statement could also be hyperbole, with the truth being something more like, "the author heard from many people who had many things to say and the author made use of some of this."

And again, I will be happy to learn if the second statement is not true and that what he chose to write about and the opinions he shared are his own and not influenced by others.

...why would that be a bad thing? We exist within a broader group, unless we are a complete hermit.

[mike]

The devil is in the details with editing. An editor with a free hand can do a lot to a story.

I don't know Andrew, but he has straight up told the author that he has not changed the book except for grammar, punctuation and normal editing to make it flow better. This took a bit more work than sometimes. While the author is very fluent in English, it is not his first language. He posits quite firmly that in no way did he change the meaning or "write" the book.

At this point I can not speak to whether the author faced pressure to change what he wrote from Americans, although the editor certainly faced pressure to drop the work altogether.

I bought the Kindle version and started it over my lunch break. What you're saying makes sense; it doesn't flow quite as smoothly as if a publishing house with a professional editorial staff had published it. I can respect the goal to edit this particular narrative lightly.

The part I have read so far is a critique of doing church as it was done in his Haitian Christian culture growing up, and then how the parts he disliked - such as the control, dogmatism, top-down leadership style, and doctrinal orthodoxy - were reinforced by interaction with American Anabaptist missionaries from Charity Missions.

Followed by the account of his assault at the hands of Jeriah Mast, which his church leaders disbelieved apparently due to being blinded by what they saw as the spiritual blessings and positive impact of the American missionaries.

[Grace]

I bought the Kindle version and started it over my lunch break. What you're saying makes sense; it doesn't flow quite as smoothly as if a publishing house with a professional editorial staff had published it. I can respect the goal to edit this particular narrative lightly.

The part I have read so far is a critique of doing church as it was done in his Haitian Christian culture growing up, and then how the parts he disliked - such as the control, dogmatism, top-down leadership style, and doctrinal orthodoxy - were reinforced by interaction with American Anabaptist missionaries from Charity Missions.

Followed by the account of his assault at the hands of Jeriah Mast, which his church leaders disbelieved apparently due to being blinded by what they saw as the spiritual blessings and positive impact of the American missionaries.

You worded that very kindly. In no way would I diminish the abuse some young Haitian boys were subjected to at the hands of Jeriah Mast. it was vile and horrendous. Nor do I agree with how CAM handled the situation.

However I am about half way through the book and find much of it about all of Doeurldy Cadet's discontent, grievances and complaints against his Pastor Dad, Pastor Daner, the church, CAM, Anabaptist missionaries, etc. And from the chapter titles, I suspect the rest of the book is more of the same. All of what he says might be true, but sometimes there are things that are better left unsaid and one needs to move on.

I have to wonder how much Trudy Metzger advised Cadet in what to write? Just a thought.