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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Having seen Leah Remini's documentary regarding Scientology, a lot in this book was already known to me. However, this was a lovely page turner and really fleshed out in more detail the horrors one goes through when realizing you've fallen victim to a cult. Well written and I read every word in Leah's voice. I respect the shit out of her for speaking out against Scientology despite it costing her so much.
Scientology sounds like it takes a lot of the factors that can trap people in traditional religions and turns them up to 11. A few examples:
1. In the semi-fundamentalist Christianity that I grew up in, the most morally significant thing about you is not what you do, but what you believe. You go to heaven or hell for eternity based on whether you believe the right stuff. To entertain doubts about the Bible is to flirt with believing the wrong stuff; it's like contemplating committing an unspeakably heinous crime. Therefore, any sources which are critical of the Bible are seen as hostile, dangerous, and deceptive; to spend a lot of time interacting with them would seem embarrassing or suspicious.
In Remini's account, Scientology explicitly demands such insulation from outside ideas. Not only are church members not permitted to talk to or read any of the writings of people deemed to be "suppressive persons" by the church, but if the church finds out you have, you'll be grilled about it in your auditing sessions. And the church may well find out, because all your friends and family are encouraged to file "knowledge reports" ratting you out.
2. A big part of what made leaving Christianity difficult for me was that my family and everyone I knew were very wrapped up in it. While I never feared that they would disown me (some Christians are not so lucky), I knew it would be a constant source of friction and in some ways make me an outsider. Community pressure is a powerful force for ensuring religious conformity.
Scientology appears to use this pressure in a severe, organized, deliberate fashion. Remini recounts how almost all of her friends from Scientology - including people she'd been close to for decades - completely cut ties with her when she left the church. They had to, or else risk having the same thing happen to them. This creates immense psychological pressure, not only because of the people you might lose, but because of the position you know you're putting your loved ones in: Remini mentions multiple times that she was reluctant to leave because the decision would affect her entire family (because they would either have to abandon her, or become pariahs themselves).
3. We're all vulnerable to the sunk cost fallacy; the more time and resources we invest in something, the harder it is to look back and say, "oh, that was all a mistake". In Christianity, the sunk costs can include time spent studying/memorizing the Bible, tithes, attempts to convert others, and simply the public identification of yourself with the views and agenda of the church.
The costs of Scientology sound much more intense. Remini describes a continuous stream of high course fees and demands for donations, and the church aggressively pushing people to go into debt to pay the church. The time requirements are shocking as well - 2.5 hours per day spent at the church! These things strike me as a clever exploitation of human psychology: extract a modestly painful investment from someone, and they'll be more willing to let you extract even more from them in the future than to face the possibility that they've been scammed.
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Leah's tale is sordid but I'm glad she shared it. There are other nice aspects of this memoir unrelated to Scientology, as well; her love for sitcoms is infectious and had me reminiscing fondly of the shows I watched as a child.
1. In the semi-fundamentalist Christianity that I grew up in, the most morally significant thing about you is not what you do, but what you believe. You go to heaven or hell for eternity based on whether you believe the right stuff. To entertain doubts about the Bible is to flirt with believing the wrong stuff; it's like contemplating committing an unspeakably heinous crime. Therefore, any sources which are critical of the Bible are seen as hostile, dangerous, and deceptive; to spend a lot of time interacting with them would seem embarrassing or suspicious.
In Remini's account, Scientology explicitly demands such insulation from outside ideas. Not only are church members not permitted to talk to or read any of the writings of people deemed to be "suppressive persons" by the church, but if the church finds out you have, you'll be grilled about it in your auditing sessions. And the church may well find out, because all your friends and family are encouraged to file "knowledge reports" ratting you out.
2. A big part of what made leaving Christianity difficult for me was that my family and everyone I knew were very wrapped up in it. While I never feared that they would disown me (some Christians are not so lucky), I knew it would be a constant source of friction and in some ways make me an outsider. Community pressure is a powerful force for ensuring religious conformity.
Scientology appears to use this pressure in a severe, organized, deliberate fashion. Remini recounts how almost all of her friends from Scientology - including people she'd been close to for decades - completely cut ties with her when she left the church. They had to, or else risk having the same thing happen to them. This creates immense psychological pressure, not only because of the people you might lose, but because of the position you know you're putting your loved ones in: Remini mentions multiple times that she was reluctant to leave because the decision would affect her entire family (because they would either have to abandon her, or become pariahs themselves).
3. We're all vulnerable to the sunk cost fallacy; the more time and resources we invest in something, the harder it is to look back and say, "oh, that was all a mistake". In Christianity, the sunk costs can include time spent studying/memorizing the Bible, tithes, attempts to convert others, and simply the public identification of yourself with the views and agenda of the church.
The costs of Scientology sound much more intense. Remini describes a continuous stream of high course fees and demands for donations, and the church aggressively pushing people to go into debt to pay the church. The time requirements are shocking as well - 2.5 hours per day spent at the church! These things strike me as a clever exploitation of human psychology: extract a modestly painful investment from someone, and they'll be more willing to let you extract even more from them in the future than to face the possibility that they've been scammed.
---
Leah's tale is sordid but I'm glad she shared it. There are other nice aspects of this memoir unrelated to Scientology, as well; her love for sitcoms is infectious and had me reminiscing fondly of the shows I watched as a child.
I have loved Leah Remini since watching her in Saved By The Bell as a kid. She’s a great storyteller and I have always been intrigued by this subject matter. I have always disliked Tom Cruise and this validates that feeling lol
Hearing what she went through was tough, I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in ex-cult members about their experiences in those communities.
Hearing what she went through was tough, I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in ex-cult members about their experiences in those communities.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Started this book as a good audio read to do together with my husband on our cross country trip. Having known very little about Scientology, it was interesting to read a firsthand account of Leah Remini’s struggles. The star studded cast of her life story definitely can keep the reader intrigued. For me, it was really informative to learn about Scientology and that was my main goal, so check!
This book is interesting mostly as a glimpse into Scientology. As someone who knew little to nothing about this 'religion,' I was fascinated by how intense it is. Leah has a very distinct voice which comes through clearly in her writing. Very enjoyable, but get ready to go down the rabbit hole of Scientology and become completely obsessed!
Second time reading this book. I love Leah and her story is fascinating/horrifying.
funny
informative
fast-paced
I’m somewhat interested in Scientology in that I’m fascinated by strange religions/cults. I haven’t looked too much into Scientology, and I don’t know much about Leah Remini, but I liked knowing that she had totally bought into the religion for a long time before realizing something was wrong, and now she was trying to share that information with everyone. This book was really good because it really focused on Scientology, when it would have been really easy for Leah to make it about herself and how amazing she is. She seemed very level-headed and kept herself in check, completely admitting that she had been all about the religion for most of her life before realizing it was a messed up cult.
