As I mentioned when I started this book, I became a bit obsessed with scientology this spring. I'd already read Janet Reitman's Inside Scientology: ThAs I mentioned when I started this book, I became a bit obsessed with scientology this spring. I'd already read Janet Reitman's Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion, after which I rewatched the documentary Going Clear. I then started watching Leah Remini's A&E documentary series Scientology and the Aftermath (available on Netflix and Hulu).
I've been aware of Leah Remini's career since she appeared on Who's the Boss, back when she and I (and Alyssa Milano, whose "best friend from the old neighborhood" she played) were teenagers, but I wasn't very familiar with her, and I was impressed by both the A&E series and Remini herself: she's very smart, compassionate, and (despite her years in scientology) savvy, and the show was very well done. Remini was in scientology from childhood until her mid-forties and even spent a bit of time in the Sea Org in Clearwater, Florida (scientology's headquarters), but her own story isn't covered in much detail on the show, and she is not mentioned at all in Lawrence Wright's Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, which I also read around this time. Eventually I became so curious about her story that I ordered this book online, waited impatiently for it, began it the day it arrived, and read it in less than two days.
Troublemaker, like many (not all) celebrity memoirs, is obviously ghostwritten, but Remini's voice comes through, and everything about her life is interesting: Her experience in the Sea Org as a child is fascinating to read about, as are her later scientology experiences and her eventual defection from the church. The book does a good job of explaining what scientology is like for both an ordinary member and a famous member, and her process of deciding to leave the church, and the church's reaction, makes for compelling reading.
I'm my mother's daughter in the sense that I love some good gossip, and this book also really delivered in that area. In particular, there's more in here about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes's relationship than I've seen anywhere else, and I ate that up. Tom Cruise comes across as such a bizarre, narcissistic, and genuinely insane person that I'm surprised he didn't try to sue Remini for this portrayal. Maybe he doesn't want to call attention to it? Remini seems so honest that I believe her account, and she's also quite funny, which of course made this book even more entertaining.
Troublemaker is obviously not some kind of groundbreaking masterpiece, but it delivers all it promises in a fully enjoyable and informative read. For that, it deserves 4 stars....more
If you've ever thought that start-ups and cults had a lot in common, you'll feel validated by NXIVM, a shady business with a messianic leader that quiIf you've ever thought that start-ups and cults had a lot in common, you'll feel validated by NXIVM, a shady business with a messianic leader that quickly morphed into a bizarre sex cult with a messianic leader. Don't Call It a Cult provides all the details you could ever need or want on the whole sordid situation. If you still can't get enough, I also recommend the CBC Uncover podcast Escaping NXIVM and the binge-worthy four-part documentary Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult....more
Ever since I read Guinevere Turner's New Yorker essay about her childhood in a cult and learned she had subsequently received a book deal for a memoirEver since I read Guinevere Turner's New Yorker essay about her childhood in a cult and learned she had subsequently received a book deal for a memoir, I have been desperately waiting for that memoir to arrive and wondering what was taking so long. It's understandable: I've been a fan of Turner, a screenwriter and actor, for many years now, and if you read my reviews you know I'm pretty much obsessed with cults. Happily, I recently got a chance to read When the World Didn't End, and it did not disappoint.
There have been a lot of books about cults in recent years, but few convey what it's actually like to be in one, and even fewer of those are actually well written. Turner has been a screenwriter for decades now, and she really knows how to tell a story, supplying exactly the right details, moving things along with just the right pacing, and even injecting some suspense when called for. Just as importantly, this book really made me understand why someone would stay in a cult and even experience mixed feelings upon leaving: depending on the group, there can be some good things about them, which tends to be why people join in the first place. In this case, the group of people Turner found herself with are the saving grace of the experience, and she portrays them all so effectively I felt like I knew them. My only complaint is that the book ended too soon. I fervently hope additional memoirs are in Turner's future.
As I mentioned in my review of Hello Beautiful, I've been freelancing for book publishers for a few years now and have had a policy of not rating or reviewing those books—but have decided to make an exception for books I really loved. Unlike Hello Beautiful, which I went into with no expectations, I went into When the World Didn't End with the highest possible expectations, and it lived up to them. Recommended for people who are interested in cults or who just like a really good memoir. As always, my opinions are my own....more
Recently I reviewed Janet Reitman's Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion and complained that the book had way too much dRecently I reviewed Janet Reitman's Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion and complained that the book had way too much detail, making it feel like homework. After reading Going Clear, I feel a bit like taking that back. This book, in my opinion, was a little short on detail, particularly about some of scientology's illicit behaviors around the FBI and IRS. I ended up really glad I'd already gotten that information from Reitman's book.
What this book did have, obviously, was a lot more celebrity gossip, and I was definitely here for that. I can't get enough of Tom Cruise's bizarre shenanigans. This book was also more compellingly written than the Reitman book, so I'd be more inclined to recommend it (and its accompanying documentary) to someone looking to get up to speed on the human rights–violating cult of scientology....more
Janet Reitman's Inside Scientology was published more than a year before Lawrence Wright's Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of BeliJanet Reitman's Inside Scientology was published more than a year before Lawrence Wright's Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, but never made the same kind of splash. Now that I've read it, I understand why. This book essentially begins with the birth of L. Ron Hubbard and provides an intense amount of detail around scientology's founding and history. I was often impatient with what I thought was, frankly, more detail than any general reader really needed, but I thought once I'd finished the book I'd be grateful to have all that background knowledge. But now that I'm done... I still feel like it was a little too much detail. It made the reading experience drag and feel like homework.
Fortunately, the second half of the book moves into the present day and is much livelier. In addition to delving into John Travolta's and Tom Cruise's stories, Reitman also presents the stories of numerous ordinary citizens who were really screwed over by scientology and its increasingly abusive leadership. I already knew the upper ranks of of the scientology organization were capable of terrible things, but still, I was honestly shocked.
Scientology doesn't have a huge presence in Philadelphia but it definitely exists here, and I've seen them recruiting at the train station in Old City. FREE STRESS TEST, their sign reads, and as far as I'm concerned a "religion" becomes a cult when it plays on people's stress, anxiety, or depression to try to pull them in. It's deceptive and targets the most vulnerable of our fellow humans. So I do feel everyone needs the information presented in Inside Scientology and I hope the message has gotten out there. If I'm being honest, though, reading this whole tome probably isn't necessary to get the information you need. I rewatched the Going Clear documentary after reading this, and I would recommend that over Inside Scientology. 3.5 stars, rounded down....more
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