Download or read book Troublemaker written by Leah Remini and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An eye-opening, no-holds-barred memoir about life in the Church of Scientology, now with a new afterword by the author—the outspoken actress and star of the A&E docuseries Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath Leah Remini has never been the type to hold her tongue. That willingness to speak her mind, stand her ground, and rattle the occasional cage has enabled this tough-talking girl from Brooklyn to forge an enduring and successful career in Hollywood. But being a troublemaker has come at a cost. That was never more evident than in 2013, when Remini loudly and publicly broke with the Church of Scientology. Now, in this frank, funny, poignant memoir, the former King of Queens star opens up about that experience for the first time, revealing the in-depth details of her painful split with the church and its controversial practices. Indoctrinated into the church as a child while living with her mother and sister in New York, Remini eventually moved to Los Angeles, where her dreams of becoming an actress and advancing Scientology’s causes grew increasingly intertwined. As an adult, she found the success she’d worked so hard for, and with it a prominent place in the hierarchy of celebrity Scientologists alongside people such as Tom Cruise, Scientology’s most high-profile adherent. Remini spent time directly with Cruise and was included among the guests at his 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes. But when she began to raise questions about some of the church’s actions, she found herself a target. In the end, she was declared by the church to be a threat to their organization and therefore a “Suppressive Person,” and as a result, all of her fellow parishioners—including members of her own family—were told to disconnect from her. Forever. Bold, brash, and bravely confessional, Troublemaker chronicles Leah Remini’s remarkable journey toward emotional and spiritual freedom, both for herself and for her family. This is a memoir designed to reveal the hard-won truths of a life lived honestly—from an author unafraid of the consequences. Praise for Troublemaker “An aggressively honest memoir . . . Troublemaker is the most raw and revealing Scientology memoir to date.”—Entertainment Weekly “Leah’s story is a juicy, inside-Hollywood read, but it’s more than that. It’s a moving story about the value of questioning authority and how one woman survived a profound crisis of faith.”—People

Download or read book Troublemaker written by Leah Remini and published by . This book was released on 2017-03-09 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - An eye-opening, no-holds-barred memoir about life in the Church of Scientology, now with a new afterword by the author-the outspoken actress and star of the A&E docuseries Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath

Download or read book Kiss My Cellulite written by Leah Remini and published by Hyperion. This book was released on 2010-07-06 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Summary of Troublemaker written by Instaread and published by . This book was released on 2016-02-18 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Troublemaker by Leah Remini | Summary & Analysis Preview: Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology is actress/celebrity Leah Remini's memoir of her life in the Church of Scientology, her gradual disillusionment with the church, and her eventual decision to leave it permanently--all against the backdrop of building a successful acting career. Leah grows up in fairly impoverished circumstances as the child of a broken home in Brooklyn. Her father, who is chauvinistic and verbally abusive to Leah and her sister, separates from Leah's mother, Vicki Marshall. Leah is plagued by a constant sense of inadequacy, instilled in part by her father's put-downs, but also by her own sense of insecurity and status consciousness. She compares herself to her friends and neighboring families, whose mothers cook family meals and iron their clothes, despite their difficult circumstances. Vicki, though loving, is a rather absent-minded mother. Leah finds herself continuously searching for acceptance and validation, and struggles to be more like everyone else... Inside this Instaread Summary & Analysis of Troublemaker: * Summary of book * Introduction to the Important People in the book * Analysis of the Themes and Author's Style About the Author With Instaread, you can get the summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, summarize and analyze it for your convenience.

Download or read book Blown for Good written by Marc Headley and published by BFG Books Inc.. This book was released on 2010-03-31 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marc Headley started working for the Scientology organization in 1989. After leaving in 2005, Marc posted bits and pieces of what went on at the Scientology headquarters (known from inside as the International Base). Marc posted anonymously under the screen name of Blownforgood aka BFG. In September 2008 Marc was invited to speak to an international conference of European government representatives regarding the Scientology organization and their abuses. It was at this time that Marc revealed his identity as Blownforgood. By 2009, the internet posts Marc had written over the years had been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, but still there were people who questioned their validity. Stories of grown men being thrown into dirty lakes and pools as punishment? Physical abuse never reported to authorities? How could this happen in modern day America? Two years after Marc wrote about these things and posted them on the internet, a Pulitzer Prize winning U.S. newspaper printed accounts from former staff member who worked at the Int Base that matched and confirmed what Marc had written about. Not only that, Scientology officials admitted that these things had taken place! Find out what they did not talk about in Blown for Good.

Download or read book Beyond Belief written by Jenna Miscavige Hill and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-02-05 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige, was raised as a Scientologist but left the controversial religion in 2005. In Beyond Belief, she shares her true story of life inside the upper ranks of the sect, details her experiences as a member Sea Org—the church's highest ministry, speaks of her "disconnection" from family outside of the organization, and tells the story of her ultimate escape. Piercing the veil of secrecy that has long shrouded the world of Scientology, this insider reveals unprecedented firsthand knowledge of the religion, its obscure rituals, and its mysterious leader—David Miscavige. From her prolonged separation from her parents as a small child to being indoctrinated to serve the greater good of the Church, from her lack of personal freedoms to the organization's emphasis on celebrity recruitment, Jenna goes behind the scenes of Scientology's oppressive and alienating culture, detailing an environment rooted in control in which the most devoted followers often face the harshest punishments when they fall out of line. Addressing some of the Church's most notorious practices in startling detail, she also describes a childhood of isolation and neglect—a childhood that, painful as it was, prepared her for a tough life in the Church's most devoted order, the Sea Org. Despite this hardship, it is only when her family approaches dissolution and her world begins to unravel that she is finally able to see the patterns of stifling conformity and psychological control that have ruled her life. Faced with a heartbreaking choice, she mounts a courageous escape, but not before being put through the ultimate test of family, faith, and love. At once captivating and disturbing, Beyond Belief is an eye-opening exploration of the limits of religion and the lengths to which one woman went to break free.

Download or read book Ruthless written by Ron Miscavige and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2017-05-16 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Now a #1 New York Times bestseller* "Compulsively readable..." —LA Weekly “Excoriating memoir" —Publisher's Weekly “A sad and painful but bravely told story.” —Kirkus Reviews The only book to examine the origins of Scientology's current leader, RUTHLESS tells the revealing story of David Miscavige's childhood and his path to the head seat of the Church of Scientology told through the eyes of his father. Ron Miscavige's personal, heartfelt story is a riveting insider's look at life within the world of Scientology. Not for sale outside the U.S.

Download or read book Troublemaker written by Andrew Clements and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-02-05 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When his older brother gets in serious trouble, sixth-grader Clay decides to change his own mischief-making ways, but he cannot seem to shake his reputation as a troublemaker.

Download or read book Going Clear written by Lawrence Wright and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2013-01-17 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower comes “an utterly necessary story” (The Wall Street Journal) that pulls back the curtain on the church of Scientology: one of the most secretive organizations at work today. • The Basis for the HBO Documentary. Scientology presents itself as a scientific approach to spiritual enlightenment, but its practices have long been shrouded in mystery. Now Lawrence Wright—armed with his investigative talents, years of archival research, and more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists—uncovers the inner workings of the church. We meet founder L. Ron Hubbard, the highly imaginative but mentally troubled science-fiction writer, and his tough, driven successor, David Miscavige. We go inside their specialized cosmology and language. We learn about the church’s legal attacks on the IRS, its vindictive treatment of critics, and its phenomenal wealth. We see the church court celebrities such as Tom Cruise while consigning its clergy to hard labor under billion-year contracts. Through it all, Wright asks what fundamentally comprises a religion, and if Scientology in fact merits this Constitutionally-protected label.

Download or read book Inside Scientology written by Janet Reitman and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2011-06-13 with total page 469 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The most complete picture of Scientology so far.” —Garry Wills, New York Times Book Review Based on five years of research, access to confidential documents, and extensive interviews with current and former Scientologists, Janet Reitman sheds some long-awaited light on the ever-elusive religion of the Church of Scientology. Scientology, created in 1954 by pulp science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world’s fastest growing religion, with millions of members and huge financial holdings. Celebrity believers keep its profile high. But Scientology is also a very closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation. Its attacks on psychiatry and its requirement that believers pay as much as tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for salvation have drawn scrutiny. Ex-members use the internet to share stories of harassment and abuse. Reitman offers the first full journalistic history of the Church of Scientology in an account that establishes the truth about the controversial religion. She traces Scientology’s development from the birth of Dianetics to today, following its metamorphosis from a pseudoscientific self-help group to a global spiritual corporation with profound control over its followers and ex-followers. This is a defining book about a little-known world. “[A] searing expose.” —People Magazine “A masterful piece of reporting.” —Washington Post “This book is fearless.” —Wall Street Journal “[A] frightening portrait of a religion that many find not just controversial, but dangerous.” —Boston Globe “[Reitman's] revelations — including abuse allegations against church leader David Miscavige and details about the organization's aggressive courtship of Tom Cruise — come with impressive backup.” —Entertainment Weekly

Download or read book Troublemaker written by Instaread and published by Instaread. This book was released on 2016-01-11 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Troublemaker by Leah Remini | Summary & Analysis Preview: Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology is actress/celebrity Leah Remini’s memoir of her life in the Church of Scientology, her gradual disillusionment with the church, and her eventual decision to leave it permanently—all against the backdrop of building a successful acting career. Leah grows up in fairly impoverished circumstances as the child of a broken home in Brooklyn. Her father, who is chauvinistic and verbally abusive to Leah and her sister, separates from Leah’s mother, Vicki Marshall. Leah is plagued by a constant sense of inadequacy, instilled in part by her father’s put-downs, but also by her own sense of insecurity and status consciousness. She compares herself to her friends and neighboring families, whose mothers cook family meals and iron their clothes, despite their difficult circumstances. Vicki, though loving, is a rather absent-minded mother. Leah finds herself continuously searching for acceptance and validation, and struggles to be more like everyone else… PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Inside this Instaread Summary & Analysis of Troublemaker: • Summary of book • Introduction to the Important People in the book • Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style

Download or read book Scarred written by Sarah Edmondson and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As seen in the HBO docuseries THE VOW: The shocking and subversive memoir of a 12-year-NXIVM-member-turned-whistleblower, and her inspiring true story of abuse, escape, and redemption. "'Master, would you brand me? It would be an honor.' From the second I climb onto the table, acutely aware that I am lying in the sweat of my sisters, I will have blocked that out. Lying there completely naked, I am at my most vulnerable but determined to prove my strength. I try to keep my legs closed as my body wills itself to protect my most private area. . . . I tell myself: I am a warrior. I birthed a human. I can handle pain. But nothing could have ever prepared me for the feel of this fire on my skin." Scarred is Sarah Edmondson's compelling memoir of her recruitment into the NXIVM cult, the 12 years she spent within the organization (during which she enrolled over 2,000 members and entered DOS—NXIVM's "secret sisterhood"), her breaking point, and her harrowing fight to get out, to expose Keith Raniere and the leadership, to help others, and to heal. Complete with personal photographs, Scarred is also an eye-opening story about abuses of power, female trust and friendship, and how sometimes the search to be "better" can override everything else. • In the tradition of Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman, Escape by Carolyn Jessop, and Troublemaker by Leah Remini • This tell-all follows Sarah from the moment she takes her first NXIVM seminar, to the invitation she accepts from her best friend, Lauren Salzman, into DOS, to her journey toward become a key witness in the federal case against its founders • Evokes questions about friendship, ethics, good and evil, making it a brilliant selection for book clubs Audio edition read by the author.

Download or read book Troublemaker written by Abookaday and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-08-20 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Warning This is an independent addition to Troublemaker, meant to enhance your experience of the original book. If you have not yet bought the original copy, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial summary from aBookaDay. INTRODUCTION Leah Remini begins her autobiography by immediately discrediting herself. She starts by listing all the things she was done wrong in her life, as well as the different bad qualities of her personality that people close to her would happily point out. She does this because she is preempting anything the church of Scientology will say about her when the book comes out. This tactic of reverse self-preservation both protects her against any future public backlash from the church, as well as heightens the drama to come as it suggests to the reader that what she is about to reveal will be worse than everything she is admitting in these first few pages. Remini explains how she left the church of Scientology in 2013, and this book is her way of not only explaining why, but revealing the truth behind the church and honoring those who have had to undergo experiences similar to hers, but have had to keep them secret. She gives a basic definition of Scientology through a quote from its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. It is described as a set plan of rules, guidelines, and lessons that take an individual through a scientific-type of process as a means to achieve spiritual enlightenment. In this way, the aims of Scientology are to create a higher and more self-aware civilization where there is less crime and violence and humanity has been able to achieve a level of spiritual enlightenment. Remini explains that she was raised as a second generation Scientologist: meaning a person has either been born into it, or brought in to it as a child by their parents [as she was]. She goes on to explain the allure of Scientology: a sense of empowerment, a clear-cut path to enlightenment, and a very comprehensible and achievable method of hard work and study that will lead directly to a moment of "going clear," or rising above the pain and irrationality of the mind. Being raised in the church helped form a very "us against them" mentality in her early on-a theme that would continue throughout her life, particularly in Hollywood. She delves into a hypothetical situation, placing the reader directly in the shoes of a person being lured in by the church and showing just how persuasive and appealing it can be. After demonstrating the ease with which it is to become a member, Remini details the personal and monetary costs of being a Scientologist. During her thirty years as a member, she personally spent close to two million dollars on training and classes and donated nearly three million dollars to church causes. Most members, she states, will end up spending five hundred thousand dollars or more, regardless of their income or level, to reach the level of "going clear." Everything, she explains-money, work, relationships, personal emotions-goes back to the church. Remini finishes the introduction by explaining that this book will essentially separate her from the church for good. By leaving the church two years earlier, and now writing this, she has become a "SP" (or "Suppressive Person," someone who is a threat to Scientology) and is now not only cut off from the church, but open to aggressive discrediting by the leaders and members. An interesting point she makes it that most people who leave the church do so because they have been penalized for being defiant, questioning, and independent thinkers; yet, these are the same qualities that made them perfect for joining the church in the first place. Available on PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. (c) 2015 All Rights Reserved

Download or read book Deep Thoughts From a Hollywood Blonde written by Jennie Garth and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-03-04 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beverly Hills, 90210's Jennie Garth shares her life experiences both on screen and off in this humorous and heartwarming memoir... “Revealing myself in these pages has been at times terrifying, but also one of the most liberating experiences of my life.…” In this candid and intimate memoir, Jennie Garth explores the highs and lows of her life, both in front of the camera and behind closed doors, revealing the joys and sorrows, successes and failures that have made her one unforgettable Hollywood blonde. From her rise to fame as a golden-haired teen beauty, to redefining herself as a single working mother, Jennie Garth has defied the odds and thrived in a town that can be more than a little tough on its blondes. Since Jennie landed in Hollywood at just sixteen, she has built an enduring career as a television and film actress, producer, and director, beginning with her iconic turn as Kelly Taylor on Aaron Spelling’s smash hit Beverly Hills, 90210, a show that ran for a decade and that cemented Jennie’s place in American pop culture. Recently, Jennie found herself facing her forties from a place she never expected to be in: newly single, in demand again as an actress after years spent focusing on her family, and all over the tabloids. With candor and a bawdy sense of humor, this is the real Jennie Garth—smart, funny, and stronger than she ever realized.

Download or read book Captive written by Catherine Oxenberg and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now updated with a new afterword, Captive is an emotional, ripped-from-the-headlines exposé that lays bare the secretive cult that shocked the world—for fans of Leah Remini’s Troublemaker and Lawrence Wright’s Going Clear. I am a mother whose child is being abused and exploited. And I am not alone. In 2011, former Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg joined her daughter, India, at a leadership seminar for a new organization called NXIVM. Her then twenty-year-old daughter was on the threshold of starting her own professional life and they both thought this program might help her achieve her dream. But quickly, Catherine saw a sinister side to the program that claimed to simply want to help its clients become the best versions of themselves. Catherine watched in horror as her daughter fell further and further down the rabbit hole, falling under the spell of NXIVM's hypnotic leader, Keith Raniere. Despite Catherine’s best efforts, India was drawn deeper into the cult, eventually joining an elite “sorority” of women members who were ordered to maintain a restricted diet, recruit other women as “slaves,” and were branded with their leader’s initials. In Captive, Catherine shares every parent’s worst nightmare, and the lengths that a mother will go to save her child. Catherine’s efforts finally led the FBI to take notice—and the journey is not yet over. A powerful depiction of a mother’s love and determination, and with horrifying insider details never revealed in any news story, Captive will keep you reading until the very last page.

Download or read book Grace Notes written by Katey Sagal and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-10-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Sagal takes you through the highs and lows of her life, from the tragic deaths of her parents to her long years in the Los Angeles rock scene, from being diagnosed with cancer at the age of twenty-eight to getting her big break on the fledgling FOX network as the wise-cracking Peggy Bundy on the beloved sitcom Married with Children. Sparse and poetic, Grace Notes is an emotionally riveting tale of struggle and success, both professional and personal: Sagal's path to sobriety; the stillbirth of her first daughter, Ruby; motherhood; the experience of having her third daughter at age fifty-two with the help of a surrogate; and her lifelong passion for music."--Book jacket..

Download or read book My Billion Year Contract written by Nancy Many and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: