shunned

The last episode was the story of Aaron, and in it he mentioned a particular couple in the congregation that he was close to. That friendship ended in much drama for him and his status with the congregation. In this episode Dani, the wife in that relationship tells her life story and gives details of what led to her eventual shunning from the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. The parties, the relations...

Aaron was born into the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses and never fully bought into the life that he was given. Knowing from a young age that he was gay he knew that he couldn't fully be himself in the religion. A tight group of friends later in life would lead him into situations that eventually resulted in his shunning. Although it would still take several years to wake up even after shunning, Aaron...

Joseph's story starts at the beginning, no not his beginning, all the way back at the beginning of the organization now known as Jehovah's Witnesses. We start discussing some history of the Bible Students that I then researched later myself personally and found fascinating. But this story is much more than a throwback, this story features much of the modern issues within the cult of Jehovah's Witn...

"All of your worth is only as a JW" is a quote and common theme from Laura's story of falling for a young man that was one of Jehovah's Witnesses in high school. Meeting this person at just 16 years of age would send her down an intense path of self-denial at the behest of him and others that would come into her life. Ultimately she was manipulated into doing what they wanted. For a religion that...

It is tough enough to be born into a cult and to not fit in with the people surrounding you outside the group, but sometimes you're born into a family in a cult that is not particularly well liked in a congregation for whatever reason, and that adds an even heavier layer of isolation with nowhere to go. Throw in home schooling and a mother that teaches you not to trust people, and you have a recip...

People get baptized as Jehovah's Witnesses for a myriad of reasons. Peer pressure, parental pressure, sometimes people feel like it will fix something in their lives. For Derek there was the hope that this 11 year old boy could erase the damage and shame he felt from the abuse he suffered at the hands of some of the girls in his life. The hope that somehow baptism would make him whole and feel saf...

Alexa was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses but never baptized, and she faces shunning for a life she didn't want and never officially even joined. Her story involves being homeless, sexually assaulted followed by a cover up, and trying to find a life of her own that ultimately has her rejected by people that she cared for. Despite the odds Alexa is working hard to rise above her circumstances...

Disfellowshipped twice by the age of 18 and reproved multiple times as well, Nina lived a very tumultuous life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Hers was often the perfect looking family on the outside that wasn't what they appeared to be, something that is very common among the group. Her first memories were images of the earth opening up and swallowing people, and she would spend much of her life t...

Disfellowshipped for her second time at the age of 19, Rebecca was kicked out of her house. She had always led a double life, the one that she wanted, and the one that she was being forced into as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. As a child with no young people in her congregation her only friends were those older than her at the Kingdom Hall, or the occasional "worldly" kid that she could have over as...

Joaquin had a life like many as one of Jehovah's witnesses. Trying to please a parent, trying to stay within the lines, but struggling as he got older to do so. Eventually he found passion in music and culinary school, leading to his eventual freedom and finding himself. The song that Joaquin chose to represent his journey is  Your Friends Are Gone by Circa Survive . Speaking of music, you can lis...

There are aspects of life that we typically see as something we should encourage people to do, like fostering and/or adopting children. We all want to see these children find love and belonging in a home. What happens when one of Jehovah's Witnesses happens to be the foster parent? This is one person's story of being introduced to the cult through a foster parent. Taira begins her journey into it...

"I never felt like I could be good enough" is a common refrain among former Jehovah's Witnesses, and it is how Serena felt in her life when she was a JW. This feeling leads to a lot of depression, anxiety, and at times suicide. In Serena's story we're going to talk about that reality and two attempts that were made. We're going to talk about how JWs deal with mental illness and the fallout that co...

Fifty episodes. Fifty long form discussions looking into the lives of people that share the pain of shunning from cults or high-control religious groups. Fifty families that have been torn apart, fifty people that have had to grieve the loss of people that are still alive. Today we close in on roughly 200,000 individual downloads from people that have been touched by these fifty brave people that...

Xitlalitl was raised in a family impacted by borderline personality disorder as well as the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. The former created many issues in the latter for young Xitlalitl as she struggled to fit in as they moved from place to place when her mom would have issues with people in the congregation. In the end when the constant gaslighting and the buy-in from congregation elders created...

Kelsey was a kid that grew up sincere as one of Jehovah's Witnesses but that ultimately followed his heart and lived a "double life". He always felt like something was off with the Witnesses but when he started being authentic they showed him who they truly were. He tells about waking up at 15 years old, his last time ever in the field ministry and how he left the cult behind, as well as how his l...

Four siblings, all free from the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses, all with their own paths out. In this interview you will meet all of them and get their stories. A common theme seems to be the emotional desert that they all grew up in, a dearth of emotional health which is a hallmark of the JW faith. A lack of authenticity, not talking about the things that matter, pushing your feelings away, these a...

First let's acknowledge that this is my first ever video interview as well as being in podcast form. So if you want you can watch the two of us talk over video chat on Youtube on the shunnedpodcast channel.  You can watch the interview HERE if you like. Candace was the bad kid growing up. Marked by those around her for being too funny, asking too many questions, and not coming from the right famil...

"I love you with all my heart but I have to leave before it turns into anything less than love." This beautiful sentiment was expressed by a 17 year old Tamara as she left her home and life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. This story has a number of twists and turns but ultimately ends in freedom and awakening. The song that Tamara chose to represent her journey is  Rainbow Connection by Kermit the...

This episode is being released today, November 16, in honor of Cassie's brother Brandon. One of the things that Jehovah's Witnesses do poorly is supporting and looking out for the mental and emotional well-being of their members. Cassie experienced multiple changes in her life where she needed to be seen and helped within the congregation in a real way and they never managed to connect to her unti...

Today we're going to meet Matthew from Australia. For a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses they find themselves just riding the wave, doing what they have to do to get by. They may not ever really "reach out" for more and more "privileges" in the congregation but just seek to make it through from one day to the next. Matthew was one such JW, trying to get by, trying to make his very serious JW mom happy a...

You can tell in this conversation that Daniel is a really humble and sincere guy. This conversation deal with the way Jehovah's Witnesses make natural things seem unnatural, how bipolar disorder can impact a person inside the organization, and he has some great insights at the end regarding things that have helped him since leaving. There's also a very strong reaction from me regarding a story he...

This episode really touches on so many different pitfalls of life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses as seen through the life of one person. We talk about the blood issue, abuse, the realities of the politics inside congregations, mental health issues, the pressures put on young couples, and Yahoo Answers. Yeah, I didn't see that last one coming either. Joseph is a person that pays attention to detail...

Today we're going to meet Renee. This is a story of profound loneliness played out over decades, surviving an abusive home and life in a cult, and coming out the other side a profoundly compassionate and beautiful person. Renee is an activist in the ex-JW community today and some know her as Renee Cordeschi – JW Survivor. The song that Renee chose to represent her journey is  No Second Prize by Ji...

Today we're going to meet Corrie. Her son Nico was featured back in April on episode 29. Now we get to hear her story and she does a really good job of putting it all together and was fun to talk to. She became one of Jehovah's Witnesses in her early 30s after a guy that was doing some tree work at her house pitched her and introduced her to his wife for a Bible study. Having recently lost her gra...

Nicole was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. This is a tough story to listen to and my heart goes out to her but she has overcome a truly traumatic childhood to create a good life for herself. Unlike most people that I interview she was never baptized, but she lived a life as a JW that needs to be told. There are a lot of patterns in this story that are repeated in many families in the organiz...