Fostered by a woman in the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, little Ashley caught the eye of the person that would adopt her as a part of their family. All Ashley wanted was to be “normal”, but her adoptive parents were in a cult that didn’t allow for such. She would do all of the things asked of her by her adoptive family and tried to connect to the performative spirituality around her while ultimately feeling empty in that environment. Sadly, as Jehovah’s Witnesses do, the very people that made the choice to adopt her into their family would also make the choice to shun her later when she wasn’t who they wanted her to be.
As mentioned in the episode, here’s a link to Episode 120 on How To Go To College .
The songs that Ashley chose to represent her journey are God Must Hate Me by Catie Turner and Faith by The Weeknd.
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This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app or on YouTube. It is a 9 part series about life as Jehovah’s Witnesses designed to help you understand how it worked in one comprehensive story and to help you process your own if you came from that environment.
Music provided by Jane and the Boy, entitled Save Myself.
Ashley
Thank you for sharing your story. My daughter is working towards her Masters Degree in Social work, Policy and administration. She is currently working in the Dept of Children and Families
She for sure is going to bring attention to foster and adoption by high control, evangelical fundamentalist parents.
Keep moving forward, and can’t wait to see who you grow into.
Thank you for sharing your story,
Ashley. Your mom was so wrong: you are loved! Not just by friends and your chosen family but by strangers who wish you well and would freely help you.
Think of things like blood donation (a JW no-no but widely accepted by “worldly” people), organ donation (post-death or live like giving someone a kidney or bone marrow), volunteer programs, social services, help lines, etcetera. Realize all of these things are done and run by people with a desire to help strangers for no reason other than our love for other humans. We’re everywhere and we love YOU!
So, SO proud of and impressed by you! Keep it up, maintain those healthy boundaries, and be true to yourself. After all this, you can get through ANYTHING.
Ashley I’m so proud of you for being so strong. I am about 28 years older than you but I can relate to you 100%. I went through it all with my dad, that whole life, and got out, and at your age I thought I was fine I felt like that world was behind me. Then I had a baby. Fast forward 28 really tough years and a loss of my dad to cancer and my son has not spoken to me since the day my dad died. I was baptized at 13 and disfellowshipped at 18. And my 28 year old has not spoken to me in 8 years, since August 20,2015, the day my dad died. Because he is Jehovah Witness now. Just like my dad.
I hope you have had someone to hang onto that can pull you through life. You’re so young and so happy and I want you to hang on to that forever. You deserve the best life! Love your friends and live your best life. ♥️