The Bad Cadet: Growing Up in the Church of Scientology's Sea Organization

by Katherine Spallino

At age six, Katherine Spallino is separated from her parents and sent to train for her future in the Church of Scientology’s clergy—the Sea Organization. Naively happy at first, she thinks it’s a fun adventure to live in a Scientology-owned dorm room in Los Angeles with thirteen other girls, rarely seeing her parents and never going to a normal school. She’s committed to her Scientology studies and her life’s purpose of clearing the planet.

Later, Katherine is sent to live at a secluded ranch with other young prospective Sea Org members, called cadets, where she studies Scientology and does manual labor—weeding fields, digging trenches, and working in the galley. The indoctrination escalates and her family slips even farther into the background. But as she enters her teenage years, a host of new, more immediate concerns emerge—namely boys, popularity, fits of rebellion, and fantasies of what else life has to offer.

As the Sea Org beckons, the fundamental question intensifies—should she commit herself to the church, or reject everything she’s ever known for a chance at a different life?"The Bad Cadet is the shocking and highly engaging account of a child’s life in Scientology. Katherine’s parents signed a billion year contract, putting aside all of their rights, to serve in Scientology’s Sea Organization. They also signed away Katherine’s rights at birth, tricked into believing that they were saving humanity. Katherine and her siblings grew up without parents, shipped away to a ranch run on military lines, without proper care or education, where they were taught to adulate Scientology’s fabulist creator Ron Hubbard, and forced into child labor. This poignant account is made even more remarkable by Katherine’s lack of bitterness and her eye for detail in a sequence of compelling events. She shows that even her indomitable spirit was almost cowed into belief in the bizarre ideas of Scientology’s narcissistic founder. Every reader will find this well-written book fascinating, but it will be especially useful to survivors of childhoods in authoritarian cults. I cannot recommend it highly enough."

Jon Atack, author of the best-selling history of Scientology, Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky; The Cult of Greed; and Opening Our Avoiding Abusive Relationships and Authoritarian Groups.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Cults, Religion, Biography

348 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2023

Reviews

[Reade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horrific $cientology

I've read many books on $cientology (Scn), and I learn something new with each one. The Bad Cadet presents the view of a child growing up through her teen years in the organization before she routed out. I found it interesting that her first instincts were mostly disgust at all the bs churned out by Scn and the extreme control it exerted over its members.

Children are not considered children by Scn. They are viewed as small adults and expected to act responsibly like actual adults. I admired Katherine's spunk and fighting spirit. She saved her own life when all around her failed her.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know very little outside of mainstream gossip when it comes to Scientology. While I definitely picked up tidbits here and there throughout this book, it felt more like a backdrop…(which I assume is the intention.) The story of what Katherine and her friends went through was both heartbreaking and fascinating… where were all the adults?! It seemed like 90% of the people in authority positions around them were barely out of the teens/early twenties. As a parent of a teen, I wanted to reach into this books and just love and protect them all. It’s easy to see why she’d have outbursts of anger and insecurity…feelings at that age feel huge! ….and where are you supposed to place them when everyone around you is dealing with the same without any sort of parental guidance…heartbreaking. It was well written and I’m looking forward to her next book. <3

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katherine’s experience being born and raised in the cult “church” of Scientology almost read like a science fiction novel. It’s hard to believe she lived in a world so twisted from most right in plain sight. Katherine’s grit, positive attitude, and zest for life kept her afloat. Amazing story of resilience and a fascinating, terrible look into the world of Scientologists that live and work on the grounds. I couldn’t put it down!

[Amanda Nieves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a LOT of ex-scientologist books over the years. I really like this one because I don't think I've ever read one from someone at the PAC ranch. Also, the author is only 2 years younger than me, and she really painted a clear picture of growing up in the 90's. A lot of the books and things she talked about were like a blast from the past. I identified with her reading habit too. It's always crazy to read these accounts of being in scientology. The kids were basically unattended, and nobody in that organization has any sympathy or empathy for anyone else. Everyone is so mean and cold. And it's wild how angry they get at a teenage girl acting like a teenage girl. I could never subject my child to that kind of treatment. This book was really engaging and well-written. I've read other ex-sci books that could use a few rounds of editing. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her next book. I highly recommend. 4.5 stars!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this!

[Megan Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to this book both in my curiosity of Scientology, and from knowing the author. I was nervous to read the book, just as we can be nervous to see any person we care about really put themselves out there. As I started reading, I was no longer nervous, and was instantly drawn in. I found the book to be very engaging and eye-opening. This isn't a book that really dives into the history or structure of Scientology (though pieces of those are woven in), but rather walks the reader through one person's experience. I felt like the author tailored her chapters to the age that she was at the time the events took place, so that you could easily remember that this was happening to a 6-year old, 10-year old, etc.

Even though this book talks about the abuse that children encountered, I do not feel like there is anything graphic or exploitative. I feel that the author does her younger self justice in this way.

I would (and have) recommend this book.

[Carly Oskroba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting insight into growing up in Scientology. I'm really interested to read her follow-up about entering "the real world". A friend grew up with Katherine so it was interesting to get his take and compare with hers - common friends and moments.

You hear all the negatives and wonder why someone would ever want to be involved in such a group, to read first hand puts those pieces together. You get a sense for how hard Katherine tried to fit it, and make it all work. In the end, she just didn't, the Sea Org wasn't for her regardless of how many times they tried to pull her back in and convince her otherwise.

Definitely recommend as a memoir to not change how you view something, but to get an understanding and empathy for how someone could devote their life to something most people view as "wrong" and different.

[Abi Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent coming-of-age story with a twist - it’s also about growing up in what some would call a cult. On the flip side, this is an excellent book about being in what some would call a cult with a twist - it’s also a coming-of-age YA story. Katherine is able to take her unique experiences and make them accessible to a broader audience. I really enjoyed her writing style and felt immersed in her story. Really looking forward to the sequel.

[Shannon CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abrupt ending!!

I’m rating this only 3 stars because the book just ended with her leaving the cult. Boom. No follow up. I wanted to know what happened to her in the “wog” world! Disappointed. I’m a never-in but so fascinated by this cult world run like the military. This was by far the best book about childhood in Scientology.

[Laurie Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

At PAC Base when she tells her parents she is going to leave the SeaOrg, Katherine's observation about the irony of her father's warning to just not embarrass the family name is profound. It reflects the “conflict” between the family’s commitment to the Sea Org and the inherent contradictions in their values—particularly regarding loyalty to the cult versus loyalty to the family unit.

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Scientology bad cadet on a Ranch does a tell-all. What could go wrong?

Okay, this is SO weird, it's like someone admitting up that they grew up with reptiloids.

[Lorraine Schuman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about Katherine's life as a cadet.

[Barbara Bales · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lighthearted, matter of fact telling of an extraordinary childhood spent in a destructive cult, working long, hard hours instead of attending school, living communally apart from parents and siblings...there is no self pity here whatsoever. Spallino has an admirable ability to make the best of every situation, at least she did growing up. "Always look at the bright side of life" could be her mantra.

This book could be, and I would love to see it reissued as such, much better. It is poorly edited and would benefit from photographs and a glossary to keep the reader up-to-date on the numerous acronyms and vocabulary unique to this cult.

What it does do quite well is relate what it was like to be a cadet growing up in Scientology when you never knew anything else. From her perspective at the time, this is the way life is. But it should not be, and for the rest of the world, it is not. Children are not supposed to be taken away from their parents. They are not supposed to be "treated" as adults until they have had the time to grow up. They should not be enslaved, sleep deprived, worked to the bone, and denied an education while they are still growing up.

Scientology is a destructive cult that is my latest obsession, because it should NOT be a tax exempt "church" and it SHOULD and MUST be ended. The abuses Spallino endured are everyday occurrences in scientology. People are held against their will, tortured, sleep deprived, and abused for years and years on end. While in the cult, families are routinely separated by placing spouses on assignments miles away from each other, sending children away, etc. When a person leaves scientology, many times they need to escape and will be followed, hounded, or even kidnapped back.

Additionally, all of their family and friends remaining in the cult must "disconnect" from them, severing the relationship entirely. Many former scientologists will wait in vain for the rest of their lives to reunite with their loved ones. Children will grow up without grandparents or cousins. To a person who was never in a cult, scientology seems to be uniquely designed and run with the actual goal of destroying families.

Love is a very small thing in this cult. In practice it is nothing at all.

The author is now publicly speaking about her book and about her life now that she is out of the cult. It was so poignant to hear her talk about how she feels about her own children and her struggle to understand how her parents could have signed her up and given her up at such a young age. Intellectually we know it is because they were fully brainwashed by the cult and believed they were doing the right thing, but emotionally it is scarring, because it was so clearly not the right thing.

I hope for an updated, improved edition of this book and a sequel telling of her life after scientology.