Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape - Softcover

Hill, Jenna Miscavige; Pulitzer, Lisa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062248480 ISBN 13: 9780062248480

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2013

Synopsis

Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige, was raised as a Scientologist but left the controversial religion in 2005. In Beyond Belief, she shares her true story of life inside the upper ranks of the sect, details her experiences as a member Sea Org—the church's highest ministry, speaks of her "disconnection" from family outside of the organization, and tells the story of her ultimate escape.

In this tell-all memoir, complete with family photographs from her time in the Church, Jenna Miscavige Hill, a prominent critic of Scientology who now helps others leave the organization, offers an insider's profile of the beliefs, rituals, and secrets of the religion that has captured the fascination of millions, including some of Hollywood's brightest stars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

About this title

Review:

Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2013: No one would ever accuse Jenna Miscavige Hill of being an "objective reporter" about Scientology, the religion in which she was raised and from which she escaped in 2005. But unlike other books about the controversial sect, this one offers up personal daily details--sometimes maybe a few more than we want to know--about what it was like to be a seven-, eight-, nine-year-old separated from family (even though her uncle, David Miscavige, is the church's leader, and her parents were, for a time, high up in the organization) and forced to spend days scrubbing bathrooms and pondering "misunderstood words." --Sara Nelson

From the Back Cover:

Jenna Miscavige Hill was raised to obey. As the niece of the Church of Scientology's leader David Miscavige, she grew up at the center of this highly controversial and powerful organization. But at twenty-one Jenna made a daring break from Scientology. Now she speaks out about her life, the Church, and her dramatic escape, piercing the veil of secrecy that has long shrouded this world.

Jenna reveals unprecedented insider knowledge of the religion, its obscure rituals, and its mysterious leader. From her prolonged separation from her parents as a child to her lack of personal freedoms to the organization's emphasis on celebrity recruitment, Jenna goes behind the scenes of Scientology's oppressive and alienating culture.

Yet it is only when her family approaches dissolution that she is finally able to see the psychological control that has ruled her life. Faced with a heartbreaking choice, she details how she made a courageous escape, but not before being put through the ultimate test of family, faith, and love. At once captivating and disturbing, Beyond Belief is an eye-opening exploration of the limits of religion and the lengths to which one woman went to break free.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0062248480
• ISBN 13: 9780062248480
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416