Book Review--Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
I downloaded Leah Remini's tell-all book, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, onto my Kindle the day it was published. I made short work of it, reading it in just a couple of days. It's a fascinating inside look into an insular religion that is closely linked to Hollywood.
Remini actually grew up in the church. Her mother joined when Leah was just 8, and she and her sister were soon spending all their time after school at the church. She and her sister both eventually joined the Sea Organization, which is Scientology's version of the clergy. To join, they both had to sign billion-year contracts. The church believes in reincarnation, and they expect members to rejoin the Sea Org in every lifetime.
From the time she joined Sea Org and her mother moved the family to the church's compound in Clearwater, FL, Remini's formal schooling was done. She and her sister worked on the compound all day doing manual labor, and all night they had to study the precepts of Scientology. How this "church" doesn't get busted for violating federal child labor laws is beyond me. Anyway, Remini was a true believer, studying constantly and working at outside jobs when she was older (and after she had left the Sea Org) to earn money to pay for all the courses and training. Unlike most religious institutions, which offer classes and their holy texts to study for free (I mean seriously--every church will give you a Bible, every synagogue will give you a copy of the Torah, every mosque will give you a Qur'an, and the Mormons can't give away enough copies of the Book of Mormon for free), Scientology charges its members to be indoctrinated in the church. Remini estimates that she spent and donated over $3 million during her 30 years in the church.
Despite her zeal, she held back a little. She always maintained friends outside the church and never dated guys in the church. She says she was embarrassed by the way some Scientology guys would use their insider jargon when talking to outsiders because she thought it made them all look weird. She even hid her religion from her cast members and crew on her show King of Queens for 9 years because she was secretly embarrassed by it. I can totally relate to this. I always made sure to keep friends outside the COC, because I needed at least one venue in my life where I could be my authentic self. I did date a couple of guys in the COC, but I think I also knew deep down that I would never marry any of them. I wanted a marriage of equals, not one where I was expected to act like an obedient slave and not have any agency or opinions of my own.
The turning point for Remini came at the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. which her fellow Scientologists referred to as The Wedding of the Century. That's when she realized that the current leadership of the church, especially the Chairman of the Board David Miscaviage, isn't really about upholding the principles espoused by L. Ron Hubbard (which I got the impression she still believes in to some degree) and more about acquiring property and money and catering to Tom Cruise...for whatever reason. (My personal opinion is that Miscaviage is in love with Tom Cruise but that's purely speculation on my part; I have no proof.) Remini got written up by fellow Scientologists at the wedding for two things: asking where Shelly Miscaviage is (she's the wife of David Miscaviage and hasn't been seen in public for almost a decade now), and asking to be reseated at the wedding reception so that she and Jennifer Lopez could sit together. She admits that the latter request was perhaps a bit tacky, but JLo and her husband at the time, Marc Anthony, didn't know anyone else at the wedding and really wanted to sit with Remini and her husband. So Remini took a hit for a friend and paid dearly for it.
Once the wool had been pulled off her eyes regarding the true mission and intention of the church's leadership, Remini started questioning other aspects of it, including doctrine. She stuck it out for a while longer, enduring countless "auditing" sessions and paying for remedial classes to atone for the "sins" she committed at the wedding of the century, but eventually, she had enough and left the church for good in 2013. She did lose a few friends, but she was very lucky in that her family stuck by her and didn't "disconnect" (the Scientology's version of "shunning") from her. In fact, her whole family left with her because they were also disgusted by the direction the church was headed and the way it treated Remini.
As you might guess, I related to much of her story because of my own experiences in a controlling church that demands absolute obedience and has no room for healthy questioning. I think all such churches are destructive and toxic and the sooner they die out, the better. For more details on my thought about Scientology and the COC, see this previous blog post.
When I was done with the book, I found myself feeling very sorry for Remini. She gave up her entire childhood and much of her adult life to Scientology, forfeiting money, a meaningful education, and authentic relationships for the sake of maintaining her good standing in a fraudulent organization. But I also feel hopeful for her and her future, now that she's free to create the kind of life she really wants, and I applaud her courage for standing up to the bullies and speaking out against them..
Remini actually grew up in the church. Her mother joined when Leah was just 8, and she and her sister were soon spending all their time after school at the church. She and her sister both eventually joined the Sea Organization, which is Scientology's version of the clergy. To join, they both had to sign billion-year contracts. The church believes in reincarnation, and they expect members to rejoin the Sea Org in every lifetime.
From the time she joined Sea Org and her mother moved the family to the church's compound in Clearwater, FL, Remini's formal schooling was done. She and her sister worked on the compound all day doing manual labor, and all night they had to study the precepts of Scientology. How this "church" doesn't get busted for violating federal child labor laws is beyond me. Anyway, Remini was a true believer, studying constantly and working at outside jobs when she was older (and after she had left the Sea Org) to earn money to pay for all the courses and training. Unlike most religious institutions, which offer classes and their holy texts to study for free (I mean seriously--every church will give you a Bible, every synagogue will give you a copy of the Torah, every mosque will give you a Qur'an, and the Mormons can't give away enough copies of the Book of Mormon for free), Scientology charges its members to be indoctrinated in the church. Remini estimates that she spent and donated over $3 million during her 30 years in the church.
Despite her zeal, she held back a little. She always maintained friends outside the church and never dated guys in the church. She says she was embarrassed by the way some Scientology guys would use their insider jargon when talking to outsiders because she thought it made them all look weird. She even hid her religion from her cast members and crew on her show King of Queens for 9 years because she was secretly embarrassed by it. I can totally relate to this. I always made sure to keep friends outside the COC, because I needed at least one venue in my life where I could be my authentic self. I did date a couple of guys in the COC, but I think I also knew deep down that I would never marry any of them. I wanted a marriage of equals, not one where I was expected to act like an obedient slave and not have any agency or opinions of my own.
The turning point for Remini came at the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. which her fellow Scientologists referred to as The Wedding of the Century. That's when she realized that the current leadership of the church, especially the Chairman of the Board David Miscaviage, isn't really about upholding the principles espoused by L. Ron Hubbard (which I got the impression she still believes in to some degree) and more about acquiring property and money and catering to Tom Cruise...for whatever reason. (My personal opinion is that Miscaviage is in love with Tom Cruise but that's purely speculation on my part; I have no proof.) Remini got written up by fellow Scientologists at the wedding for two things: asking where Shelly Miscaviage is (she's the wife of David Miscaviage and hasn't been seen in public for almost a decade now), and asking to be reseated at the wedding reception so that she and Jennifer Lopez could sit together. She admits that the latter request was perhaps a bit tacky, but JLo and her husband at the time, Marc Anthony, didn't know anyone else at the wedding and really wanted to sit with Remini and her husband. So Remini took a hit for a friend and paid dearly for it.
Once the wool had been pulled off her eyes regarding the true mission and intention of the church's leadership, Remini started questioning other aspects of it, including doctrine. She stuck it out for a while longer, enduring countless "auditing" sessions and paying for remedial classes to atone for the "sins" she committed at the wedding of the century, but eventually, she had enough and left the church for good in 2013. She did lose a few friends, but she was very lucky in that her family stuck by her and didn't "disconnect" (the Scientology's version of "shunning") from her. In fact, her whole family left with her because they were also disgusted by the direction the church was headed and the way it treated Remini.
As you might guess, I related to much of her story because of my own experiences in a controlling church that demands absolute obedience and has no room for healthy questioning. I think all such churches are destructive and toxic and the sooner they die out, the better. For more details on my thought about Scientology and the COC, see this previous blog post.
When I was done with the book, I found myself feeling very sorry for Remini. She gave up her entire childhood and much of her adult life to Scientology, forfeiting money, a meaningful education, and authentic relationships for the sake of maintaining her good standing in a fraudulent organization. But I also feel hopeful for her and her future, now that she's free to create the kind of life she really wants, and I applaud her courage for standing up to the bullies and speaking out against them..
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