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4 reviews for:
The Bad Cadet: Growing Up in the Church of Scientology's Sea Organization
Katherine Spallino, Katherine Spallino
4.16 AVERAGE
4 reviews for:
The Bad Cadet: Growing Up in the Church of Scientology's Sea Organization
Katherine Spallino, Katherine Spallino
4.16 AVERAGE
Horrific $cientology
I've read many books on $cientology (Scn), and I learn something new with each one. The Bad Cadet presents the view of a child growing up through her teen years in the organization before she routed out. I found it interesting that her first instincts were mostly disgust at all the bs churned out by Scn and the extreme control it exerted over its members.
Children are not considered children by Scn. They are viewed as small adults and expected to act responsibly like actual adults. I admired Katherine's spunk and fighting spirit. She saved her own life when all around her failed her.
I've read many books on $cientology (Scn), and I learn something new with each one. The Bad Cadet presents the view of a child growing up through her teen years in the organization before she routed out. I found it interesting that her first instincts were mostly disgust at all the bs churned out by Scn and the extreme control it exerted over its members.
Children are not considered children by Scn. They are viewed as small adults and expected to act responsibly like actual adults. I admired Katherine's spunk and fighting spirit. She saved her own life when all around her failed her.
A lighthearted, matter of fact telling of an extraordinary childhood spent in a destructive cult, working long, hard hours instead of attending school, living communally apart from parents and siblings...there is no self pity here whatsoever. Spallino has an admirable ability to make the best of every situation, at least she did growing up. "Always look at the bright side of life" could be her mantra.
This book could be, and I would love to see it reissued as such, much better. It is poorly edited and would benefit from photographs and a glossary to keep the reader up-to-date on the numerous acronyms and vocabulary unique to this cult.
What it does do quite well is relate what it was like to be a cadet growing up in Scientology when you never knew anything else. From her perspective at the time, this is the way life is. But it should not be, and for the rest of the world, it is not. Children are not supposed to be taken away from their parents. They are not supposed to be "treated" as adults until they have had the time to grow up. They should not be enslaved, sleep deprived, worked to the bone, and denied an education while they are still growing up.
Scientology is a destructive cult that is my latest obsession, because it should NOT be a tax exempt "church" and it SHOULD and MUST be ended. The abuses Spallino endured are everyday occurrences in scientology. People are held against their will, tortured, sleep deprived, and abused for years and years on end. While in the cult, families are routinely separated by placing spouses on assignments miles away from each other, sending children away, etc. When a person leaves scientology, many times they need to escape and will be followed, hounded, or even kidnapped back.
Additionally, all of their family and friends remaining in the cult must "disconnect" from them, severing the relationship entirely. Many former scientologists will wait in vain for the rest of their lives to reunite with their loved ones. Children will grow up without grandparents or cousins. To a person who was never in a cult, scientology seems to be uniquely designed and run with the actual goal of destroying families.
Love is a very small thing in this cult. In practice it is nothing at all.
The author is now publicly speaking about her book and about her life now that she is out of the cult. It was so poignant to hear her talk about how she feels about her own children and her struggle to understand how her parents could have signed her up and given her up at such a young age. Intellectually we know it is because they were fully brainwashed by the cult and believed they were doing the right thing, but emotionally it is scarring, because it was so clearly not the right thing.
I hope for an updated, improved edition of this book and a sequel telling of her life after scientology.
This book could be, and I would love to see it reissued as such, much better. It is poorly edited and would benefit from photographs and a glossary to keep the reader up-to-date on the numerous acronyms and vocabulary unique to this cult.
What it does do quite well is relate what it was like to be a cadet growing up in Scientology when you never knew anything else. From her perspective at the time, this is the way life is. But it should not be, and for the rest of the world, it is not. Children are not supposed to be taken away from their parents. They are not supposed to be "treated" as adults until they have had the time to grow up. They should not be enslaved, sleep deprived, worked to the bone, and denied an education while they are still growing up.
Scientology is a destructive cult that is my latest obsession, because it should NOT be a tax exempt "church" and it SHOULD and MUST be ended. The abuses Spallino endured are everyday occurrences in scientology. People are held against their will, tortured, sleep deprived, and abused for years and years on end. While in the cult, families are routinely separated by placing spouses on assignments miles away from each other, sending children away, etc. When a person leaves scientology, many times they need to escape and will be followed, hounded, or even kidnapped back.
Additionally, all of their family and friends remaining in the cult must "disconnect" from them, severing the relationship entirely. Many former scientologists will wait in vain for the rest of their lives to reunite with their loved ones. Children will grow up without grandparents or cousins. To a person who was never in a cult, scientology seems to be uniquely designed and run with the actual goal of destroying families.
Love is a very small thing in this cult. In practice it is nothing at all.
The author is now publicly speaking about her book and about her life now that she is out of the cult. It was so poignant to hear her talk about how she feels about her own children and her struggle to understand how her parents could have signed her up and given her up at such a young age. Intellectually we know it is because they were fully brainwashed by the cult and believed they were doing the right thing, but emotionally it is scarring, because it was so clearly not the right thing.
I hope for an updated, improved edition of this book and a sequel telling of her life after scientology.
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
This is a frank, straightforward memoir about a girl who struggled to fit in at every Scientology base she bounced between during her formative years. This is a unique, insider look at what Scientology is like for young people specifically and its adherents as a whole.
dark
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced