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  • The Last Days

  • A Memoir of Faith, Desire and Freedom
  • By: Ali Millar
  • Narrated by: Ali Millar
  • Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (78 ratings)

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The Last Days

By: Ali Millar
Narrated by: Ali Millar
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

A Scotsman Book to Watch for 2022

It is 1982 and in the Kingdom Hall we are Jehovah's Witnesses. The state of the world shows us the end is close, and Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking to devour us.

Ali Millar is waiting for Armageddon. Born into the Jehovah's Witnesses in a town in the Scottish Borders, her childhood revolves around regular meetings in the Kingdom Hall, where she is haunted by vivid images of the Second Coming, her mind populated by the bodies that will litter the earth upon Jehovah's return.

In this frightening, cloistered world, Ali grows older. As she does, she starts to question the ways of the Witnesses, and their control over the most intimate aspects of her life. As she marries and has a daughter within the religion, she finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into its dark undertow, her mind tormented by one question: is it possible to escape the life you are born into?

A tale of love and darkness, of faith and absolution, The Last Days is an unforgettable memoir of one woman's courageous journey to freedom.

©2022 Ali Millar (P)2022 Penguin Audio
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Critic reviews

"A coming-of-age story like no other." (Lily Dunn, author of Sins of My Father)

"Ali Millar pulls you heart first through an extraordinary life, somehow making sense of an experience that should make no sense at all. A sublime talent." (David Whitehouse, author of About A Son)

What listeners say about The Last Days

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the truth will out...

feeling as though i was right there traveling though her life, outstanding, Ali's writing is amazing, touching and so raw. 💝

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so familiar

as an ex Jehovah witness myself I found this book to be a very accurate description of what life was like as a child growing up in that religion and the pressures and trauma it can lead to.
Thank you Ali, it can't have been easy to write but I'm so glad you did.

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Couldn't stop listening!

Loved this couldn't stop listening. Very relatable, moving and raw. Ali, you have opened wounds to enable me to heal from the misery of life as a Jehovahs witness.

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Absolutely outstanding

I listened in one go, brought a lot of memories. Amazingly written. What a talent!

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Using the initmate to show a whole world

The small details in this memoir said everything. The personal details and experiences in the day to day living somehow offered a biting critique that simple non-fiction doesn't allow. In that way we got closer to the flaws and realities of this world through the way that one person made sense of it all. Loved it

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Engaging, whilst sadly familiar and disturbing.

Thank you Ali Miller for writing this memoir. As an ex jw, many of your experiences were familiar, some more than others. Thank you for your honesty. I hope you have had or are receiving the support to process the trauma you’ve been through. Counselling really helped me to unpack my experiences. Reading critical information and hearing others stories is also so helpful as an ex jw. Unless you’ve experienced life as a jw, it’s difficult to understand the high control environment. This book demonstrated the mental thought control that they inculcate in members and how damaging this can be. Again, thank you Ali. Fantastic work highlighting the evils of this cult.

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personal and reflective

Millar writes an engaging memoir, showcasing her upbringing and struggle with JW. The degree of reflection she showcases is impressive.

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Heart-achingly raw and real.

I love the honesty in the writing. I love the way the timeline brings the reader into the moment and moves us on as the story unfolds. Beautifully written and equally beautifully narrated.

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Loved it

I really enjoyed reading this although a lot of it was truly heartbreaking. I had an idea of the basics of the JW organisation but to hear about it from someone who escaped was mind blowing. There’s a lot of ‘yeah they’re a bit wild but heyho’ in the discussion about JW but it’s worrying reading about how truly destructive and self serving they are.

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Brilliant

Excellently written, raw, honest and so very good at highlighting all the misogyny in the religion. Read with a beautiful Edinburgh accent, very easy to listen to.
Recommended!

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2 people found this helpful