Good News
Three years ago, I embarked on a terrifying journey: becoming a college student at the age of 50 after only having an 8th-grade education and spending 35 years in a totalitarian cult.
After three years of hard work, long nights, tears, and wanting to give up so many times, I have earned an associate's degree from NYU.
I'm now working on my bachelor's degree.
I desperately wanted a higher education for many years but didn't move forward because I feared I was not smart enough. Even though I had managed to leave Scientology, three decades of brainwashing still gripped my mind.
I feel so grateful to have gotten the support I needed from my family and friends, including my mom, my step-father George, my sisters Nicole and Shannon, my husband Angelo, and most of all, my little nugget, my daughter Sofia.
So many of you have gotten me through the most challenging times. I have read many of your comments and drawn inspiration from them.
I couldn't have done this without the support of my therapist, who provided the support and tools that prevented me from giving up early on.
Thank you to the professors and staff at NYU and my amazing tutor.
I know I am in a position of privilege that has offered me the flexibility to do this. But over the past three years, I've heard from thousands of people, especially women, who have decided to take the leap at an older age and get their GED or pursue a college education.
Whether a cult used to control your life, you have a full-time job as a stay-at-home parent, or full-time job(s) outside of the home, it's never too late to continue your education and pursue what you have always wanted to achieve for yourself!
Congratulations Leah. I have a similar story. At age 16 in 1972, I dropped out of high school, left home and dropped out of society to "join" the Children of God, which turned into a notoriously abusive cult. After 20 years I finally escaped. Like you, I thought I was too dumb for university, but it turned out that my extremely low self-esteem was just a product of the cult's indoctrination. I was intellectually starved in the cult, so I was extremely nervous entering university at age 36, but instead of failing I thrived. I had straight As in every course over 4 years and graduated at the top of my class with a B.A. with distinction. I went on to law school and became a lawyer. For the last 20 years I've been an advocate for cult survivors, especially those who were born and raised in cults. My memoir, "Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life In A Doomsday Cult", describes some of that advocacy work, and how the second generation survivors of the COG/TFI were responsible for bringing that cult down. My memoir also describes and criticizes the role of cult apologist academic scholars who defended that cult while ignoring the claims and evidence of child abuse survivors saying they were exaggerating or lying, thus enabling wide spread child abuse to continue for years. It's never too late to learn. I'm sure you'll succeed in achieving your further academic goals. Btw, I greatly admire your advocacy work. There are many similarities between the Scientology and COG/TFI cults. In fact, the leaders of the latter cult sought advice from Scientology leaders and lawyers on how to handle their critics, such as Professor Steve Kent, who you had on your show, and who I consider the top expert on both those cults. He provided a blurb for the inside cover of my memoir.
I earned my bachelor’s degree by the age of 40 and at 55 working on my masters degree. It definitely isn’t too late. Congratulations to you. You’re an inspiration to many people. I wish you continued success as you reach your education goals. 🥳