I have no idea how I feel about this. I wasn't super impressed. I liked it okay but not enough to say "here, you have to read this" to anyone. Less was borderline spineless, always getting cut off mid sentence and never standing up for himself. And then the ending was like How I Met Your Mother. Really? That's how this all ends? Bah.
It's bad. I stress when work is so busy because I never have a chance to catch my breath. Well, right now it's the opposite. I'm stressing because we aren't busy, and you need business to keep the doors open. Today, I worked alone from 6am to about 8:40. I filled 5 orders, all for 2 people or less. I did some prep, then i read for a while, then i did more prep, then back to reading. Then my anxiety spurred me to get up and DO something, so I cleaned and degreased a sink, set up the dish pit, and tinkered with organizing things on the prep table. Then back to reading until my boss came in to relieve me. Lord, it was dull.
Anyway, the book. I can see why everyone liked this. It's witty and well written. I just question Less's decision making. People keep giving him random pills at clubs or recommending drugs that he promptly looks for and takes. Maybe because I'm not in the drug culture and I've had really bad experiences with addiction. Anything but pot upsets me. I lost a cousin to heroin. He was a mule, and a balloon popped in his stomach while he was transporting the stuff across from Tijuana. (No, I swear to God, that is true. I went to his funeral when I was 17.) So drugs being casually accepted and taken without question just....unsettle me.
Other than that, I can completely identify with this man. He's like a Male gay me.
I have this across 3 different media platforms, so I'm sorry if this keeps flipping from percent to minutes to pages.
This whole trip to Mexico seems sketchy as Hell.
A few things I believe about Scientology:
1. L. Ron Hubbard was a con man and this was the ultimate con. He laughed all the way to the bank.
2. Dave Miscavige is an egomaniac and he beats his employees.
3. Dave's wife has been missing for over a decade, only heard from through a lawyer, and I'm pretty sure she's dead.
4. I feel really bad for people that actually believe in this "religion". And that's coming from someone who believes in the invisible sky daddy.
Jenna's story was so awful that at times it was hard to believe. But then you look up stories of people that escaped this cult and you learn it's an all-too-common tale. From working like a mule her whole childhood to having no true education to the constant paranoia that is the self-policing of Scientology, it was one huge nightmare. I mean, just saying you wanted to call the police was enough to get you a High Crime. A High Crime! They could beat you senseless (which they have done before) and if you say you are calling the authorities, you become the enemy.
I'm glad Jenna escaped. I was disappointed her husband wasn't so easy to convince to leave, but I am happy he did eventually go with her. I think books like this need to be shared so that others do not fall prey to cults. As Jenna herself said, Scientology may say to think for yourself, but it encourages the opposite. Brainwashing at its finest.
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