Troublemaker
Apr. 19th, 2020 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearI recently saw Leah Remini as a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race and it made me interested to read her book, Troublemaker, which is about her life in Scientology and the reasons she eventually left the church.
Several of the quotes on the back label the book 'juicy', which I am sure is useful in selling copies, but I also think it does the book a disservice. It's not a sensationalist account designed to make money, it appears to be an honest and heartfelt attempt to explore and break free from a lifetime of indoctrination.
Remini makes the very smart choice not to hide her flaws, actually opening the books with a statement about how loud, rude and annoying she can be, and being honest that this is an attempt to prevent the church from discrediting her by listing her faults and transgressions. It's clever and effective.
I also liked the fact that she doesn't vilify the church completely, but highlights the good things about it and the useful things it has taught her, which she still relies upon. I particularly like the section towards the end where she talks about going into therapy and learning that she doesn't have to reject everything about Scientology in order to see the problems with it - that she can take the lessons it has taught her and still benefit from them, even while not being connected to the organisation any more.
This is a very well-written, thoughtful, balanced and seemingly honest book, which I would recommend to anyone who wants to find out more about one person's experience of Scientology.
Several of the quotes on the back label the book 'juicy', which I am sure is useful in selling copies, but I also think it does the book a disservice. It's not a sensationalist account designed to make money, it appears to be an honest and heartfelt attempt to explore and break free from a lifetime of indoctrination.
Remini makes the very smart choice not to hide her flaws, actually opening the books with a statement about how loud, rude and annoying she can be, and being honest that this is an attempt to prevent the church from discrediting her by listing her faults and transgressions. It's clever and effective.
I also liked the fact that she doesn't vilify the church completely, but highlights the good things about it and the useful things it has taught her, which she still relies upon. I particularly like the section towards the end where she talks about going into therapy and learning that she doesn't have to reject everything about Scientology in order to see the problems with it - that she can take the lessons it has taught her and still benefit from them, even while not being connected to the organisation any more.
This is a very well-written, thoughtful, balanced and seemingly honest book, which I would recommend to anyone who wants to find out more about one person's experience of Scientology.
