The Community - Jamiyla N. Chisholm - A Short Summary and Review

The Community - Jamiyla N. Chisholm - A Short Summary and Review

By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures

A Rite of Fancy Book Recommendation and Review

Growing up under the spell of York.

A short summary:

The Community is Camila N. Chisholm’s memoir of growing up under the influence of a charismatic and controlling leader known as York. Told from the perspectives of a child and a young adult raised within a closed belief system, the book traces how isolation, obedience, and manipulation quietly shaped daily life.

Chisholm details how devotion was enforced through fear, spiritual coercion, and gradual emotional erosion. What begins as a search for belonging and certainty becomes an environment where dissent is punished and individuality is suppressed. The memoir focuses less on sensationalism and more on the slow, cumulative damage caused by absolute authority.

This is a story about indoctrination, survival, and the long road to recognizing that what was presented as truth was, in fact, control.

My favorite quote from the book:

"Old habits are said to die hard, and the same is apparently true for traumas."

- Jamiyla N Chisholm, The Community

Questions to ponder while reading:

What would you allow for your beliefs?

What is religion supposed to be?

My review:

This is a heartbreaking book, and it should be approached with care. The Community does not soften the realities of abuse within cult structures—emotional, psychological, and spiritual. Chisholm writes with restraint and honesty, allowing events to speak for themselves rather than sensationalizing harm.

What makes the memoir especially powerful is its attention to aftermath. The story does not end with escape; it continues through the difficult process of naming trauma, reclaiming autonomy, and learning how to exist outside a system that once dictated every thought and action.

This is not an easy read, but it is a necessary one. Stories like this matter because they illuminate how abuse hides behind belief, authority, and community language. Readers should be aware of abuse triggers before beginning, but for those who can engage, The Community offers a vital testimony and a voice reclaimed.

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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life

She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.

You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.

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