I read this book to fulfill one of the Read Harder 2020 prompts. I learned a lot about Scientology and it’s truly shocking abuses of power and human rights abuse. However, this book is sooo boring. For a woman with a very compelling personal story, every effort is made to diffuse tension in the story. The prose is very flat and direct re-telling of events with little attempt to understand the roles and motivations of people involved in the organization.

Jenna had a completely whackadoo childhood and it's heartbreaking to see how she was brainwashed and kept from her family for so many years. It was interesting to read all of this inside information on Scientology. However, it was very dry. Scientology has a billion acronyms and weird titles and it did get confusing at times trying to remember what CMO meant and where all of the different camps are. Someone else called the prose flat and I agree with that. It makes sense why it would all be a little emotionless considering that the "church" seemed to encourage a complete lack of emotion. I'm happy she was able to escape and have the life she wanted to have.

Woah. I really thought I had at least an inkling of an idea of what Scientology was about...I was wrong. Granted, this a personal memoir and bound to have some degree of embellishment, but all in all there was a consistent theme and tone to the writing leading me to believe there is a very high degree of truth to it. At times I found it to be overly-detailed and repetitive, but by the time I got to the end of the book I realized that in order for the reader to really understand what it must have been like to grow up in such an oppressive environment, the book had to be written as it was experienced.

All in all, very informative and disturbing, and (to me) well worth the read. I have always been so intrigued by fanaticism and the ability for completely rational people to accept the absurd as truth, whether it be religion or otherwise.

Great insight on what scientology is. Sometimes she drags on but overall a good book

A fascinating, yet rambling biography.

3.5 stars. Interesting read about one person’s experience with Scientology that I think will be good to pair with something more journalistic. Only downside was the odd ending which was a couple of paragraphs of abject victim blaming those remaining in the church?! Also JUST SAY “SAID”!!!!