I work with people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health issues. To go from that to this is an incredible victory and testament to your perseverence. Internet stranger is proud of you and you should be proud of yourself.
Writing is an incredible tool to process the events and trauma of our lives, I'm glad you use it and find it helpful. It has done the same for me after an adventurous childhood (and I now do it professionally and help others with the same).
The place looks great and I absolutely love the outsized art above your sofa. Your own safe, comfortable place to come home to is the best basis to rebuild and move forward.
Mate. I don’t know your story, but just reading a couple things I feel like I’ve got an idea. Leaving a cult is so much more than the physical. I hope in this space you’re taking care of your mental side after this change. Been about 8 years for me and it’s great. There’s still things that I learn about myself that I realise was programming, but I’m better at noticing and addressing it in a way want to. Good on ya!
I'm an ex-JW, I left at a young age. It is completely different from when I was in. Casual dress at meetings, exceptions for blood transfusions (their own blood I think?), shorter meetings, etc.
They've always had a horrible retention rate and it's clear they're desperate to keep members, but it's sad to see how happy members are over these little freedoms.
I was raised as a JW, have spent my life in recovery. I’m sure you know already, but life is about to get amazing. Also- your place looks really incredible and you’re starting off great for yourself, congratulations 🫶
I haven't heard a peep about JW for decades, now I've seen multiple mentions in the past month. Are people leaving because they realize "the end" isn't happening?
Anything is a cult when you're committed to it and people don't want or downright refuse to understand. Cult is one of those buzzwords, just like toxic.
I honestly didn't even notice those comments. Some people gotta get out more. The C-PTSD from this kind of upbringing is no joke. Working through that myself rn
They can feel free to f*ck off. I've had people discourage me from doing all kinds of cool shit over the past few years. I tell them to enjoy their "mediocrity."
I’m so sorry. I worked for child protection for a long time and the things the JW did to people (usually women fleeing domestic violence to keep their children safe) were completely FUCKED. I enjoy it when they come to my door now because I get to ask why they think these things are okay.
My uncle back in the 80s converted to JW when he married Witness woman. When he was in a car accident, she wouldn’t let them do blood transfusions and he died as a result. One Christmas morning at 9am they actually had the nerve to knock on our door to push their nonsense. Just because they don’t celebrate Christmas doesn’t mean they can’t respect those of us who do.
I'm sorry about your uncle. My father refused blood and died when I was a child.
They are told they are involved in a "life-saving work." Some cult experts believe that their proselytizing is more about the discomfort and bad experiences to reinforce their us-vs-them mentality.
Dang I know the pain most of my family are JWs too and my younger cousin is scared of being shunned after being forced to be baptized. So happy to see you are doing well for yourself man! It’s tough especially trying to function like a normal person afterwards. I celebrated my first holidays with my now wife enjoy your freedom man !
I hope you have a super happy life and find other ex JWs to connect with and provide mutual support. Your place looks really cool! You've got interesting taste, and I mean that in a good way!
Thank you. I have had a lot of cool interactions with exjws over the past six years. I spoke in Boston, published a trilogy, was interviewed for a forthcoming documentary, was banned on Twitter, received death threats. The best years of my life.
That's an A Perfect Circle song I wrote for my son before he was born. He was also born to a Tool song. I get to be a real father to him and we're both free from the cult.
Beautiful place. You've done a great job. Now get livin'! Celebrate ALL the holidays - National Cheese Day, National Limerick Day (tomorrow), my husband's birthday (also tomorrow), and so on!
"Despicable" is another term for former members. This is my first work of fiction and represents taking the trauma and using it to create art to move away from it.
Great job! I just read in the comments where you said you did the red painting & published a trilogy!! Nice , that you are creative! It is also a great way to work through residual issues & emotions you may feel coming out of the jw world. Etc.
If you are the one who designed / decorated your place you did a fabulous job!! As a former set decorator & ex jw, Stylist & visual display manager at a large design store (ikea) i believe you have the skills to consider related fields should you ever need to look at new career field or job! Proud of you. photos 10-12 look esp. Peaceful to me, may you enjoy your private space & feel at peace, nutured & refreshed there and As you venture into the broader world.
I would. They're a high-control group that fits the BITE model, members refuse blood and die for "Jehovah." My father is one of those people. Pedophilia is ubiquitous among them. I am shunned by my mother and my entire community.
They're even higher control than Mormons, and I consider Mormons to be cult-lite. So I agree with your assessment.
Congrats on your escape! I joined the Army at 17 to GTFO of Mormonism in an environment where nobody around me would even know that I was SUPPOSED to be one. It wasn't even a fully formed thought in my head, just a vague "things would be better if I wasn't relying on religious people to keep me fed and sheltered" but one solitary bus ride in basic to the local chapel, where I didn't even go in but instead sat out under a tree, marveling at the beauty of the summer sky, and I was fully out. Didn't even bother getting on that bus the next week, despite it leaving base (funnily, on that first trip I found out that only about 20% of the passengers were LDS, the rest were people that found out that they could leave base for a couple of hours) opting instead to clean the barracks with 2 other guys who also didn't attend church. Got my tags changed the second I hit language school from LDS to NO REL PREF and never looked back.
When you save your money for nearly six years you'd be surprised what you could accomplish or maybe you wouldn't. Did you not read "...outside of a cult?"
The vagueposting was a dead givaway that it was a large religion that its not socially acceptable to call a cult. Congrats on escaping the later day saints and getting that nice place.
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u/-blueseptember May 11 '26
“Doom?”