By college it was clear that I was stunted emotionally, I had difficulty making friends (they might smear dog shit on me), and I tended to drift towards the ‘losers’ (many of which are still dear friends!). The next four years of my degree, I drank more and more, smoked more and more, and developed a strong interest in all things pagan.
By my final year of the degree, I had decided that come what may, I would leave the religion (after a number of aborted attempts and one suicide attempt), and so my double life became a single life. Finally in the last months of my degree, some do-gooder caught me smoking and insisted I either tell the elders or he would.
I told my parents that I was leaving a few weeks later, and with my 5000 pound savings moved away from home the next week. I set up my own business and over the next years grew this to a value of over a million Euros.
I went through hell emotionally, and abused everything I could lay my hands on in these early days – but through sheer willpower I made it.
Today nearly nine years after leaving, I am happily married and generally successful in life. Until a year ago I still had demons that lingered hidden under the surface and influenced my life. It’s only now after reading great forums like JWN that finally the last remnants of an abusive religious cult are starting to be washed from me.
This is the synopsis of the story I will now tell, excuse my bullet points (it’s easier for me to remember this way) but over the next few articles I will post in detail:
- Punishments, Jehovah style
- My early baptism attempts
- The ‘young ones’ stories (why 90% left)
- My suicide attempt
- The double standards
- My final departure
- Other family members leave
- My thoughts on this cult and more.