Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill (with Lisa Pulitzer)
Review by Mirah W. (mwelday)
Several months ago I read Leah Remini’s autobiography Troublemaker (check out my review on the blog) and she exposed many of the questionable practices of Scientology. I was intrigued by Remini’s book and wanted to learn more about Scientology and the experiences of others who had also managed to escape the Church. I found Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill, the niece of the Chairman of the Board of Scientology David Miscavige.
Jenna was raised in the Church when her parents joined when she was just a small child. Some of her stories of her childhood in California and her jobs for the Church sounded like nothing more than child labor. During much of her childhood, while Jenna and her father were in California, her mother was in Florida. The separation of children from their parents (and the rule that members of the Sea Organization can’t have children) seems to be part of an elaborate isolation and brainwashing scheme on the part of the Church.
As Jenna describes her various duties in the Church, her auditing sessions, her limited friendships, and monitored interactions with her family, she voices what seems to be doubt but she stays in the Church, even when given an initial chance to leave. What she experiences seems to be nothing more than systematic brainwashing and separating of individuals from any support system outside the Church. There were obvious mixed messages from the Church through their words and actions and even directly from her uncle and aunt, David and Shelly Miscavige. When Jenna questions the Church over some practices or requirements, she is met with hostility, degrading accusations and punishments. Her final frustration that pushes her to leave the Church was a long time coming based on her life story.
In Beyond Belief, Jenna goes into great detail regarding her experiences and she comes across as genuine and honest. While the delivery is a bit simplistic and the writing style is not very sophisticated, I think a reader who is wanting to learn more about the practices of the Church will find this book engrossing and, honestly, quite disturbing. Beyond Belief gets a solid 4 out of 5 stars from me.
Tags: Autobiography, Book Recommendations, Book Reviews, nonfiction, Scientology
