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Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman’s Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult

Brenda Lee
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2007)
ISBN 9781931741651
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (1/08)

“Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman’s Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult” by Brenda Lee is a memoir chronicling the author’s escape from the binding hold that the Jehovah Witness religion had on her family and life and the consequences that met her afterward.  When Brenda was a young girl, Jehovah’s Witnesses visited her Pennsylvania home with their literature and talked her family into doing a free bible study. That one knock on the door would forever change Brenda’s life and her relationship with her family.  Her mother became immersed in the Jehovah beliefs and decided that the whole family would be baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Brenda’s father refused and was the only one not baptized although he did attend the meetings at Kingdom Hall. 

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a very rigid belief system without any room to bend.  Growing up in the Jehovah faith was very traumatic for Brenda as she found herself isolated from the rest of her classmates.  She could not celebrate the events they celebrated, participate in school activities, or date.  Also, as a Jehovah’s Witness you cannot be friends with or associate with people who are not of the same faith as you.  To top all of it off she even had teachers who abused her because of her religion.

When she finally came of age she escaped to live with a cousin that she had never met in Colorado and tried to start her life anew by breaking free from the holds that the religion had on her.  However, her insecurities fostered from being isolated and ostracized as a child followed her into adulthood and there were consequences that followed.  

Unfortunately in the Jehovah faith once someone leaves the religion they cannot be associated with anymore by those still in the faith.  This even applies to family members.  So in a sense by leaving the religion she also lost her family, all except for her father (he was not baptized into the faith).  After trying to “save her” and failing, they would not talk to her anymore and essentially they cut her out of their life.

While I understand that the Jehovah faith did have a huge effect on the author’s life it seems that she blames everything that goes wrong on that premise which I find a little bit unbelievable.  There are other factors involved that cause things to turn out the way that they do.  I do understand her anger but in some cases it seems that it is misdirected.

All in all, the book is a very engaging and a fast read!  I read all 238 pages from start to finish in one night.  I learned a lot about the Jehovah’s Witness faith and I was actually shocked by a lot of the things that I read.  I honestly had no idea that these people who come knocking on my door believed some of the things that they do.  To disown a family member because they choose not to be involved in your faith is, in my opinion, ridiculous!  I applaud Brenda Lee for having the courage to come forward and write this memoir and hope that others can benefit from reading about her experience.  I think that anyone who is considering becoming a member of this religion or any similar religion should definitely read “Out of the Cocoon” before doing so!

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