Customer Reviews

Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman's Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have to admit that I'm not quite through with this book, but as a member of Jehovah's Witnesses for over four decades, I have to say that it was quite chilling reading Brenda's account of her childhood...because it could have been me writing the same thing. Many people are unaware of what Jehovah's Witnesses REALLY teach and how they enslave you once you are baptized, usually without complete information about this cult. Both my husband and myself and our two sons were able to break free from this cult...but even after 5 years of freedom, we are still feeling the effects of shunning and psychological damage.

I hope that by reading this well written account by Brenda, that those who may be contemplating joining Jehovah's Witnesses as a baptized member, will realize how deceptive and cruel this religion is. I applaud the author for coming forth and speaking for all of us who have been devastated by the unloving and UNCHRISTIAN actions of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Yeah...it's a good read!!

Catherine Laszewski

DO NOT BE FOOLED BY HOW NICE AND CARING JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES SEEM TO BE WHEN THEY KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR WITH A SMILE. I was raised as a JW and spent over two decades of my life in this hateful, negative cult that masquerades as "the only true religion". This religion/cult was forced upon me as a child with the usual JW parental tactics of guilt, fear, threats and coercion, under the guise of "we are Jehovah's happy people!" (What a joke). I had no choice in the matter, as it was made clear to me that my fellow JWs (the only social/emotional support circle I was permitted to have) would completely shun me and abandon me if I did not stay in the group. I finally found the courage and strength to walk away in disgust from this dangerous, high-control, mind-control cult, and started my life anew at the age of 26. I saw myself in Brenda Lee's book, and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to read it. There were many parallel experiences that we both had. I feel much sadness regarding the people I used to know as witnesses, who are now raising their children to be prisoners of this cult, and thus continuing the dysfunctional, hateful cycle of servitude to the men of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. This organization is nothing more than a financially successful publishing company, who keep their membership tightly under their control by brainwashing them to believe that they have to remain in the religion, and loyal to the "faithful and discreet slave", in order to be approved by God. As Brenda Lee relates, and the rest of us who have escaped can attest to, JW parents have been brainwashed to choose loyalty to their warped, twisted religion, over loyalty to their own children and family members. This is not love, and this is not Christianity. The public at large needs to be made aware of how truly dangerous this cult is. They are not "just another religion". Do not allow them to destroy your family, as they have destroyed countless other lives and families. Read Brenda Lee's book and find out for yourself how sinister, evil and sick this religion really is.

Although I was not raised as a Jehovah's Witness (I became a Witness in my mid-twenties and disassociated myself approximately ten years later), I remember how young children were expected to sit and behave like little adults during the most tedious, boring meetings! What on earth they could possibly have actually benefited from those meetings I'll never know. They were enough to drive adults up the wall let alone little children! Brenda tells it like it is for children in this religion and what it is like for people when they leave it. Young children getting baptised into this cult (actually, shouldn't baptism be about Jesus Christ, NOT the WTBTS???) before they even really know THEMSELVES is crazy! If they discover in their teens that this JW religion is not for them and they want to leave, then they are really getting into a can of worms. The damage is done, because the WTBTS makes life very, very hard for them. If they leave, they might lose their families and friends! How could a decent, loving, caring religion let this happen to people? Brenda Lee tells so well what happens to families in this cult if a family member or members leave it. What happens is so bizarre and cruel, it is unbelievable! I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the Jehovah's Witnesses religion or to anyone in the religion who is struggling. Brenda Lee conveys so well the ludicracy behind this cult. I want to add that she brings much insight, wisdom, and also humor to her book!

In a simple conversational style, Brenda Lee describes finding inner strength and determination, despite being surrounded by 'loving' forces that would reign her in.

She does not provide details of the Jehovah's Witness organization nor go into depth about the J.W. theology.

Brenda's story describes the painful walk made by children raised in cult mentality. With compassion and humor (self generating orgasms while sitting for hours in church), she shows how anyone could be susceptible to a totalitarian doctrine, with subsequently fractured intimate relationships.

Brenda deserves praise for coming forth with her story. Others raised in high demand organizations will appreciate validation for their isolating experience.

Educators, social workers and medical providers would benefit from this childhood story. Children such as Brenda are in our communities. They deserve to be recognized and assisted.

Congratulations, Brenda, for creating your life and sharing your lessons!

Just wanted to say that though I am still reading the book, it is "right on," in that the story the author tells of her experience in a religion that was forced upon her resonates throughout the ex-JW community...it echos so well what all of us can attest to...that though the Watchtower Society blatantly touts themselves as "promoting strong families," the very opposite is true. It is quite literally not only the destroyer of many family structures, it has torn apart countless lives.

High marks for the author for telling her story, and keeping it real. Perhaps Brenda's courage in sharing her experience, as have other ex-JWs, will help those Jehovah's Witnesses...who deep down know that something is wrong...to come to a place where they are finally ready to know the truth about "The Truth."

Out of the Cocoon is a story that NEEDED to be told.

The author's description of her struggles after having been excommunicated (while still a minor!) by Jehovah's Witnesses and the resulting abandoned by her Witness family--for the 'crime' of no longer wanting to be one--was stunning. (The cultish controls exercised over believers by the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Brooklyn, New York (according to their own documentw, is "God's channel" for all loyal members of 'The Organization'), meant that no Jehovah's Witness--including her parents and siblings--could ever speak to her, feed her or give her shelter without having to share the same fate. Scary!

The author openly tells of her experiences and efforts to 'make it' as a teen living from hand (in the dumpster) to mouth on the streets. Totally unprepared for the responsibilities of freedom, this gutsy throwaway kid makes describes the many unwise choices as she struggles along trying to build a life worth living.

If you doubt that the Watchtower is a cult, or that joining Jehovah's Witness' can't destroy entire families for generations you MUST get this book.

If you are considering becoming a baptized Witness, please, please read this--while you still have the freedom to do so.

If you are among the thousands 'The Organization' shuns each year, you NEED to read this book--soon.

If you've been 'out' for any length of time you will relate to Brenda Lee's story of dealing with the results of having been abandoned by those you trusted most and working to make your place in this big beautiful world where 'freedom' means redefining who you are and what you believe.

CJR, Vero Beach, Florida

I absolutely loved this book. I have been trough my own hell with the JW cult and reading this memoir made me realize that I am not alone. I consider this a must read for anyone that has left the religion.

Brenda Lee begins her memoir by taking the reader on a nostalgic trip through eight years of her happy childhood. Born in March of 1962, Brenda's family home was a 150 year old farmhouse on eighty acres of land, in rural Pennsylvania. The safety and security of her early childhood ended abruptly.

At the age of nine Brenda's mother was baptized and joined a Jehovah's Witness Assembly. At this point in her story, Brenda introduces the reader to the basic tenets of the organization. This groundwork helps anyone unfamiliar with their beliefs to better understand the turmoil Brenda experienced.

Brenda shares heartbreaking stories of parental and emotional abuse, of physical and verbal assaults by classmates and teachers, and the loneliness of social isolation. She tells of her tumultuous teen years of survival, and the deprivation of normal friendships and peer relationships.

Successful in scholastic achievements and meticulous in her work ethic Brenda quickly became independent and self supporting. Vulnerable and unprepared for developing healthy adult male relationships, Brenda's plight plunges her into a disastrous marriage built on co-dependency.

Brenda's story is also one of triumph over the demons from the past as she turned a terrible negative into a wonderful positive. Her life is a testament to the power of self-love and acceptance.

The author uses the analogy of the cocoon to relate the story of her own stages of emergence out of the cocoon into life and freedom. She keeps a positive upbeat and optimistic tone to her writing. It is her desire to give the reader hope and encouragement through her story. She reaches out to those struggling with religious cultic experiences, dysfunctional family situations, personal addictions, disappointment, guilt, isolation, and a sense of abandonment...

This was written for me. My next door neighbors were converted to being JW. This was when we were young children. I do stay in touch periodically with this friend who I met when she was only 4 years old. She is still a JW and has raised her children this way. She told me a story of abuse by her Father who was a drug addict and a pedophile. As a child she often went hungry as her father wasn't bringing home income. Her mother allowed her child to associate with me because we had her stay for dinner almost every night, This draws some light for me to her plight. In school where she was forced to stand in the hall during the pledge of allegiance. This is against JW rules. She quit school as soon as possible. She home schooled her children before it was a common thing to do. Not all JW people abuse their children. I can tell you that after her terrible childhood my friend is an excellent mother. She put being a good mother as her top priority in life. Once you are in this religion it's pretty difficult to leave. Normally when you leave a church it's not the end of the world. For these people their whole world crumbles. It's terrible to bully a child because of a parents beliefs. Most people don't realize that joining JW can also effect your health or kill you. You can not get a blood transfusion. A very personal thing for me because I'm alive today because of blood transfusions. I also recommend I Witness which explains in greater detail what JW believes.

This book is written well and clearly. It reads like a real person wrote it herself. This is a good thing. It is also free of overly ambitious prose or attempts at poetic descriptions or other self indulgent writing, so the story moves along and is quite readable.

The book is less about the cult than it is about the common dificulties most young people face when moving out on their own. The family in this case is somewhat disfunctional, but not tremendously so.

The insight into the cult then, is confined to the observations of a young girl who watches as her family is alienated from her and who gets ostracized in her high school social scene. We also get some vivid descriptions of the generalized child abuse that happens in this cult's 'kingdom hall' services. We get a few specific bits of the belief system of the cult and the various requirements placed on their members (eg hours of door to door solicitations), but there is no real in-depth insider perspective on the cult, and it becomes a background story about one third into the book. What's left is the kind of thing that seems very common to me, and that is the story of the girl getting out, first apartment, getting to school on the bus, etc. In excrutiating detail.

We also get the inevitable self-defeating attraction to the alcoholic, backing into marriage with same, the day by day details of the doomed marriage, the child, the eventual divorce, the struggle to get day care, etc etc etc. With constant flashbacks to her family who've turned stone-cold towards her as required by their cult. Not quite soap opera.

In short it's a tale diminished by it's attention to mundane details of a somewhat ordinary struggle. It's distinguishing characteristic of cult survival offers so little insight into the cult that it is almost a minor thematic item. What there is of it is good reading, but if you are looking for something in depth and involved about the organizational and other strangeness of the Jehovah's Witness cult, you must be disappointed.