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Fading Out of the JW Cult: A Memoir
Bonnie Zieman was raised to believe she would live forever in an earthly paradise as a survivor of the impending Battle of Armageddon, but when a Jehovah’s Witness childhood friend died at the age of ten, that belief was irrevocably shattered.
So began Bonnie’s long journey to break free of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In this engrossing memoir, the retired psychotherapist chronicles her many years of indoctrination as a repressed and unhappy Witness trying to find a way out without tearing her whole life apart. Her experiences provide vital insights for those attempting to understand what it’s like to live under the destructive influence of an all-controlling cult, despite having doubts.
Bonnie Zieman goes on to describe her process of creating a life outside the Jehovah’s Witness cult, dealing with the enforced separation from her birth family, getting an education, and building her private practice as she and her husband raise three children.
Enhanced by her perspective as a psychotherapist, Fading Out of the JW Cult discusses the effects of groupthink, undue influence, mind control, cognitive dissonance, family dynamics, and social isolation, and will empower anyone struggling to exit or recover from an abusive situation.
So began Bonnie’s long journey to break free of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In this engrossing memoir, the retired psychotherapist chronicles her many years of indoctrination as a repressed and unhappy Witness trying to find a way out without tearing her whole life apart. Her experiences provide vital insights for those attempting to understand what it’s like to live under the destructive influence of an all-controlling cult, despite having doubts.
Bonnie Zieman goes on to describe her process of creating a life outside the Jehovah’s Witness cult, dealing with the enforced separation from her birth family, getting an education, and building her private practice as she and her husband raise three children.
Enhanced by her perspective as a psychotherapist, Fading Out of the JW Cult discusses the effects of groupthink, undue influence, mind control, cognitive dissonance, family dynamics, and social isolation, and will empower anyone struggling to exit or recover from an abusive situation.
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 29, 2016
12 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 18, 2018
I can relate!
What a great memoir! Not only was it a story of her life but, Ms. Zieman also included her training as a therapist in this book. It helped me with some guilt I didn't even realize I had from leaving the JW cult. Thank you Bonnie!
What a great memoir! Not only was it a story of her life but, Ms. Zieman also included her training as a therapist in this book. It helped me with some guilt I didn't even realize I had from leaving the JW cult. Thank you Bonnie!
August 9, 2025
My son's girlfriend was an ex-Jehovah's Witness. When she finally went to college she did a scholarly paper on the religion and one day came to my house and sobbed. She felt that everything she had ever been told was a lie. She had been shunned already for dating non-JW boys, but this was the icing on the cake.
All to say - I found the book interesting and learned a bit more about the inside of the religion, but I found some of the details repetitive. This is our August book club read and I think it will lend itself to a ton of discussion.
All to say - I found the book interesting and learned a bit more about the inside of the religion, but I found some of the details repetitive. This is our August book club read and I think it will lend itself to a ton of discussion.
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July 22, 2021Well, this sucks.
*And this suckage offends you as a religious person?*
No, it offends me as a writer, and as a lover of beauty, too -- have you seen that hideous cover that looks like Microsoft paint crapped out blue and black?
*And this suckage offends you as a religious person?*
No, it offends me as a writer, and as a lover of beauty, too -- have you seen that hideous cover that looks like Microsoft paint crapped out blue and black?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews