Episode Eighty Three - Laurel - Growing up in and leaving Scientology

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What is it like to grow up as a child in Scientology? Not as a celebrity, nor anyone with clout, but as an average person going to a local church and trying to assimilate into the only life that you know? Laurel tells her personal story of growing up as a Scientologist, joining the Sea Org at just 13 years of age, getting married, her path toward becoming a “word clearer”, and one particular way to leave the Sea Org to obtain freedom. This isn’t just a story about Scientology though, this is a story about how a belief system can impact a family, and ultimately this is a human story about a little girl growing up and facing some things that most people will never have to face. From the normal desire to fit in and make friends to her life being pulled into the extreme emotional control of the group, to having to stare into someone else’s eyes without breaking gaze for hours at a time, Laurel has an experience to share.

The song that Laurel chose to represent her story is Pay No Rent by Turnpike Troubadours.

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This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app or on YouTube. It is a 9 part series about life as Jehovah’s Witnesses designed to help you understand how it worked in one comprehensive story and to help you process your own if you came from that environment.

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Music by Fair Voyeur entitled “No Hell Yet”.