From Our Readers

A Scholarly Magazine

The chairman of a literary committee of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church and principal of the college in which I teach described Awake! as scholarly and beautiful. He said: “Awake! is investigative, it X-rays, it diagnoses, it analyses, and it mirrors world events as they are.” Keep on producing this scholarly and beautiful magazine.

V. N. E., Nigeria

Premarital Sex

As a 19-year-old youth living in La Paz, I happened to obtain a copy of your magazine on “Aids.” (April 22, 1986) I was impressed with all the articles, but especially the one “Young People Ask . . . How Can I Say No to Premarital Sex?” As I read that article, I thought about many mistakes that have been made not only by me but by many Bolivian youths, since we live in a society corrupted by violence and sex. I felt compelled to read it to some of my friends. At first they made fun of me, but afterward I know that it made some stop and think, as it had done to me. Keep up your good work of helping young people who are on the wrong road.

R. U. A., Bolivia

Phobias

My heartfelt thanks for the feature articles on “Phobias.” (February 8, 1987) I am a 26-year-old single man who has been having attacks of anthropophobia [fear of people] and anxiety neurosis for two years. Although I kept on seeing psychiatrists, I knew very little about my illness, and I suffered every day with anxieties that my trouble may be due to some personal failure in my life as a Christian. Thanks to your article I have been able to find hope for my life from now on. I now know that I am not alone in suffering this way.

Y. O., Japan

I enjoyed the article “Fenced In by Phobias.” How it has helped me to know that someone understands! When I was 13 years old, I suffered from agoraphobia [fear of open places]. For over a year I stayed at home, being terrified to go outside of our house. How I hated my life! It took over three years to get back on my feet. Recently I had to stay in the hospital for tests. The very same fear came over me. I could not stop crying, and I was very depressed. On returning home, I sat down and read the article on phobias. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. I feel the article has truly helped me.

J. B., England

Hope for the Mentally Ill

I sent copies of your issue “Hope for the Mentally Ill” to a hospital with a number of mentally ill patients. (September 8, 1986) One doctor replied that he was “pleasantly surprised at the article’s grasp of the subject and its objectivity, particularly as regards schizophrenia.” He also said: “We discussed the matter this morning at our doctors’ conference, and we will pass the magazines on to our staff and to our patients.” Another doctor expressed appreciation, saying that “magazine articles about mental illnesses and their treatment seldom deal with the matter in such a factual, correct, and, above all, encouraging way.”

D. N., Federal Republic of Germany