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renee0467's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this more than I thought I would. Leah is a great audio reader - authentic, funny, and professional. I learned a lot about Scientology.
sj_elli's review against another edition
4.0
I grew up watching King of Queens and loved Leah Remini. I never really knew she was involved in Scientology until she pretty much came out against the cult. I definitely want to watch the docu with Leah talking to other ex-members but I wanted to read her book first. This is half and half - it's part memoir about her life leading to fame and then part the Scientology side of things and how it affected her life. I have to admit that I was laughing at the Amazon 1-stars complaining of her dropping too many f-bombs. If you don't like cursing, don't listen/read this book. You won't like it. But I honestly have seen so much of her in talk show settings with Michelle Visage that I knew exactly what Leah is like in real life and she's absolutely someone I'd be friends with.
cillygirl75's review against another edition
5.0
So good, so truthful, so honest, so brave. I have so much respect for her.
corybanter's review against another edition
5.0
I actually didn't expect this to be so fascinating, but I really enjoyed it. I've read a couple different books that have tried to expose the truth about Scientology, and I've read several of L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics/Scientology works. I have no doubt that everything Remini talks about in the book is true, no matter how crazy it all sounds. For me, it was a gripping read.
candacesovan's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, well-written, well-told. The book starts off with a bang, but it never really digs into the meat of some of the story it tells. Scientology was a rip-off, I get that. Tom Cruise has 'way too much say in the running of the group, I get that. But? Somehow, I get the feeling that there's more to the story than what she has told. Perhaps she pulled punches wanting to not alienate people who may someday be in a position to give her work? Dunno.
However, there was one great, big, humongous hole in the story. It would appear that Scientology is systematically and theoretically profoundly anti-gay. How did Ms. Remini reconcile that stance with the many LGBTI folks she must have run into in show business? Did Ms. Outspoken ever find it in her heart to speak up about how Scientology trashed the gay community? Or is she only a somewhat reformed hate-monger? Dunno, but I wonder.
However, there was one great, big, humongous hole in the story. It would appear that Scientology is systematically and theoretically profoundly anti-gay. How did Ms. Remini reconcile that stance with the many LGBTI folks she must have run into in show business? Did Ms. Outspoken ever find it in her heart to speak up about how Scientology trashed the gay community? Or is she only a somewhat reformed hate-monger? Dunno, but I wonder.
wormsinmysalad's review against another edition
4.0
The truth is that this book was way funnier than I expected it to be. I've read other memoirs about Scientology, and if you are looking for details about the workings of its programs this book won't give you a great deal of insight. However, Remini provides enough information for the reader to put her story in context. I admire her frankness, which is in a dead heat with her humor for her best quality. She is brutally honest in describing her own starts and stops, and I love her for her open humanity. She also, once she realizes the hypocrisy and horror of the leadership's actions, blows shit up.
I listened to this book on audio, and had trouble shaking a Brooklyn accent for a few days afterwards. I also think, as a mom to four children with very different birthing stories, that her description of delivering her daughter was one of the funniest things I've ever read.
I listened to this book on audio, and had trouble shaking a Brooklyn accent for a few days afterwards. I also think, as a mom to four children with very different birthing stories, that her description of delivering her daughter was one of the funniest things I've ever read.
sbloss92's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book as part of a crime analysis class I took for my graduate program. I became interested in her story and experience in Scientology after hearing about her split with the religion. She eventually began her television series documenting not only her, but other survivors accounts of being in Scientology. Her book details her introduction to the religion and how her and her family did everything they could in order to be upstanding parishioners, from spending thousands of dollars on courses and auditing to uprooting the family multiple times to follow the religion hub. Reading her accounts of how she began to really question the practices of Scientology blew my mind, and now keeping up with the progress her and the show are making gives me hope that more people will come to realize how untrustworthy this whole "religion" is.
barbtries's review against another edition
5.0
This is a quick, entertaining, and educational book. I love Leah Remini and it was great to read her book and know that she has always been who she is, one of the most authentic and committed people around. She's huge in the world of truth tellers trying to bring scientology to justice.
She's funny. Self-depricating. Brutally honest even to a fault. But how refreshing it must be for her to have the scientology muzzle off, and be giving the finger to the scientology mind-fuck after 30 years and millions of dollars being victimized by a destructive, criminal cult.
Brava
She's funny. Self-depricating. Brutally honest even to a fault. But how refreshing it must be for her to have the scientology muzzle off, and be giving the finger to the scientology mind-fuck after 30 years and millions of dollars being victimized by a destructive, criminal cult.
Brava
xuxi22's review against another edition
5.0
This is a very interesting read. It is told with humor and compassion. It was confirmation of the suspected and in the end I am so glad they had the courage to not only leave but to confront their church. That is never easy.