Bookmarks Subscribers discussion

I thought we already had a discussion topic for this, but I guess not. Share your thoughts on Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief.

I really enjoyed that book. So did my husband.

Was there a particular point or part that grabbed you the most? The information on Miscavage's wife being missing was so disturbing to me because no one has done anything about it.

It has been about a year since I read it, so I'm rusty, but the punishment levels.

i also read this book quite a while ago, march of 2014. but i found this to be such an impressive book. it's clear wright did incredible research! i knew only a bit about l. ron hubbard and scientology before reading the book, but information in the book went so far beyond any suspicions or uncomfortable feelings i had about the organization.

i think the thing that has stuck with me the most* were the reports of confinements, brutalities, violence, and half-assed education of the children. if these reports are true...charges of slavery and human trafficking (which are discussed in the book) are not unfair. as well, the 're-education program' struck me as... abuse. when people within scientology fail in some way - they are sent for "re-education". some people have spent years in 'the hole', as they try to earn back their status through gruelling hard labour, and study, subsisting on beans and rice, and living in black jumpsuits.

i spent a lot of time questioning the mental health of the two main players - l.ron hubbard and david miscavige. it was more clearly stated that hubbard dealt with some serious mental health issues. less clear was miscavige's state of well-being - though he did not come across as a psychologically healthy person.

during the read, i spent a large amount of time worrying about the safety and health of the people who helped wright with his research for the book.

for those interested, the book has been turned into a documentary by HBO. they have had more than 160 lawyers prepare for the films release because scientology is a notoriously litigious organization. http://www.npr.org/2015/03/26/3955794...


* - apart from miscavige's missing wife, what the hell? i think there are only two possibilities - she's dead, or she's in the hole for re-education.


edited for typos. :/

That's right! Those poor people who were stuck in a basement somewhere "working" for a pittance and they never have any way out. It was all so scary and absurd. I think it took a fair amount of courage for Wright to publish this after learning what he did about how they operate.

I watched the HBO movie today that is based on the book. The personal stories told by the actual people involved were compelling, but overall not as detailed or as powerful as the book. I guess the movies never are.

I would still like to see that movie but we don't have HBO.

it's not airing on HBO in canada until may, so i was disappointed to discover that broadcast difference. i am quite keen to see it.

The HBO documentary was good, but I am looking forward to delving more deeply into the book.

So far, I am shocked by what a jerk Hubbard was. He wasn't exactly someone worth following.

he really wasn't sera! my husband (who has also read the book) maintains that it was all an exercise in seeing how far he could get people to go in believing what he made up - just one giant manipulation to amuse himself.

Jennifer wrote: "he really wasn't sera! my husband (who has also read the book) maintains that it was all an exercise in seeing how far he could get people to go in believing what he made up - just one giant manipu..."

Your husband's theory fits well with LRH as science fiction writer and as egomaniacal mad man too.

yes -- i am pretty sure that's how he reached his conclusion, betsy. the combination seems to make sense to him. my husband had a lot more knowledge about l.ron hubbard before reading 'going clear' than i did. i can't recall how or why he knows all this stuff, but it was tied to the scifi writing. there's something nagging in my brain about a bet hubbard made with someone... but i can't quite recall it properly. i'll have to ask about that piece.

Please let us know, Jennifer.

In the book, he does horrible things, especially to the women in his life. It appears that the primary driver was tax-exempt money, which is why he started the religion of Scientology. He was a charlatan.

I finished the book and thought that it was well done. I felt that Wright went easy on the church in the end, giving it some benefit of the doubt viz-a-viz other religions. It is difficult to criticize something that seems to help many people, but there is a dark side to the mix here that causes me to cast doubt on the entire premise.