Episodes

Hali grew up in the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but also in what was thought to be a trap house. One of her first memories, at just 5 years of age, was a SWAT team breaking into her house, taking everyone out, and holding her father at gunpoint to arrest him. So she experienced the shame of being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and having to be different from other kids at school, but she suffered a double layer of shame because her father suffered from addiction. Being third generation and born into a cult that is essentially a trap house for shame, that pattern would only continue throughout her life until she one day realized that she didn’t need to care what they thought anymore. She always felt like she wanted to go home but didn’t know what that meant for her, and although she has faced shunning, today she has found home in the form of a person, her husband, and the life that they are creating together, a life without shame.

Support the show and get bonuses as well by donating to the cause on our Patreon page, Patreon.com/shunned

Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let’s talk. I have affordable programs to help as a certified life coach with a focus on cult recovery. Click HERE for more information.

Want more resources? Go to my other website exjwHelp.com

You can join The Uprising Project and get help with your career, small business, and finances by going to: https://theuprisingproject.com/join/

Leave us a review on iTunes

Find shunned podcast on Youtube, including new VIDcasts here.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

You can listen to the Shunned Podcast Spotify playlist here for all of the songs chosen by guests of the show.

This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app. 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.

An ExJW podcast and ExJW YouTube Channel

I have created a website with a trivia quiz to help reach Jehovah’s Witnesses online. The goal of the quiz is to get them sharing, talking, and above all, thinking. Through carefully crafted questions and answers, where even the wrong answer can introduce a person to something that they never knew, my hope is to help people have fun while learning about the very destructive thing that they are involved in. The website and quiz is available in English, Spanish, and Polish versions currently. It has been taken by people all over the world, and it was tested prior to release to make sure that at least some of those participants are active Jehovah’s Witnesses. You can find and share the quiz as part of your own activism at: https://jwtrivia.com/

Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Struggling with perfectionism, building a social network, codependency, or feeling like you’re not enough? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let’s talk. I have affordable programs to help as a Cult Recovery Coach. I work with many ex-JWs, along with ex-other groups, and your average person that has never been in a cult that wants better things in their life. Find out more here: https://storyworkscoaching.com

I also have an ExJW specific site here: https://exjwhelp.com

You can join The Uprising Project and get help with your career, small business, and finances by going to: https://theuprisingproject.com/join/

Please consider supporting the show’s Patreon if you appreciate the time that goes into producing these stories, and get yourself some exclusive bonuses, at: https://www.patreon.com/shunned

Show notes and information on how to be a guest or find other resources for the podcast can be found here: https://shunnedpodcast.com/episodes/

Music provide by Jane and the Boy, entitled Save Myself

An ExJW podcast and an ExJW YouTube channel

In the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses, appearance means everything. It is your credibility, your social status, even your standing before god in their congregations. So when Daisy had moments that mirrored the pain she felt inside that manifested in a way that could be seen outwardly, her mother took that very personally. In fact, time and time again throughout Daisy’s story the need to look the part is put above the harsh realities of her daily experience. Eventually Daisy would have to find her way to freedom and real substance to leave the shallow and abusive environment of her past.

Support the show and get bonuses as well by donating to the cause on our Patreon page, Patreon.com/shunned

Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let’s talk. I have affordable programs to help as a certified life coach with a focus on cult recovery. Click HERE for more information.

Want more resources? Go to my other website exjwHelp.com

You can join The Uprising Project and get help with your career, small business, and finances by going to: https://theuprisingproject.com/join/

Leave us a review on iTunes

Find shunned podcast on Youtube, including new VIDcasts here.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

You can listen to the Shunned Podcast Spotify playlist here for all of the songs chosen by guests of the show.

This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app. 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.

An ExJW podcast and ExJW YouTube Channel

I decided to go out this year to test some new ideas for activism and protest at conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Evansville Indiana. I wanted this to be a one man protest and planned to go alone. The goal was to give a voice to the voiceless, to create cognitive dissonance in people that wish to ignore actual truth in favor of “The Truth”, and to give them a chance to connect to the emotions of those on the outside. This was done by exposing them to real audio recordings from the Shunned Podcast here, featuring poignant moments from guests that I hope might resonate with someone there. Activism can take many forms, and this is my chosen form for the day in question.

In this episode I discuss my takeaways from this protest, which took place in three parts over two weekends in Evansville. Everything from what I felt to what I saw, from how people reacted at the protest to how they reacted online (including in the YouTube comments), and I give tips on how you can do something similar if you wish.

Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Struggling with perfectionism, building a social network, codependency, or feeling like you’re not enough? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let’s talk. I have affordable programs to help as a Cult Recovery Coach. I work with many ex-JWs, along with ex-other groups, and your average person that has never been in a cult that wants better things in their life. Find out more here: https://storyworkscoaching.com

I also have an ExJW specific site here: https://exjwhelp.com

You can join The Uprising Project and get help with your career, small business, and finances by going to: https://theuprisingproject.com/join/

Please consider supporting the show’s Patreon if you appreciate the time that goes into producing these stories, and get yourself some exclusive bonuses, at: https://www.patreon.com/shunned

Show notes and information on how to be a guest or find other resources for the podcast can be found here: https://shunnedpodcast.com/episodes/

Music provide by Jane and the Boy, entitled Save Myself

An ExJW podcast and an ExJW YouTube channel

If you’re looking to buy the speaker that I used, here’s a link to the Doss Traveler on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XKZCBYM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

If you’d be interested in any of the shirts that I wear on the podcast, they can be found here, and I do get a few bucks on each sale: https://shunnedpodcast.threadless.com/

When Felicity’s father left when she was just eight years old, life took a sudden turn as her mother fell into the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Struggling with her own mental and emotional health, her mother is described as a wild animal, hurling objects and abuse at her young daughter. Concerned outsiders could see what was going on at times, but not Jehovah’s Witnesses. In fact, young Felicity would walk to the Kingdom Hall and be passed by brothers and sisters in cars that refused to pick her up. She was even fostered for a time by an elder and his family, only to find them devoid of love as well. Ultimately Felicity would take a stand for herself and her children in an act of courage. This is her story.

Support the show and get bonuses as well by donating to the cause on our Patreon page, Patreon.com/shunned

Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let’s talk. I have affordable programs to help as a certified life coach with a focus on cult recovery. Click HERE for more information.

Want more resources? Go to my other website exjwHelp.com

You can join The Uprising Project and get help with your career, small business, and finances by going to: https://theuprisingproject.com/join/

Leave us a review on iTunes

Find shunned podcast on Youtube, including new VIDcasts here.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

You can listen to the Shunned Podcast Spotify playlist here for all of the songs chosen by guests of the show.

This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app. 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.

An ExJW podcast and ExJW YouTube Channel

I decided to go out this year to test some new ideas for activism and protest at conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Evansville Indiana. I wanted this to be a one man protest and planned to go alone. The goal was to give a voice to the voiceless, to create cognitive dissonance in people that wish to ignore actual truth in favor of “The Truth”, and to give them a chance to connect to the emotions of those on the outside. This was done by exposing them to real audio recordings from the Shunned Podcast here, featuring poignant moments from guests that I hope might resonate with someone there. Activism can take many forms, and this is my chosen form for the day in question.

Additionally, after my Day 2 video where they tried to block me and followed me everywhere I went, lining the street corners and reporting on my location, I brought a new message for them as well on this occasion. Many had suggested it in comments on my first video, so I put a little something together for them to add into the mix.

On this day and morning session of my one man protest I got to meet new brothers as they formed an impenetrable barrier to my audio activism. They followed me everywhere I went, so we got our steps in for the morning, and I got to see downtown Evansville in new ways. We laughed together, and they enjoyed my presentation enough to line up for a front row seat the entire time. This is more than just a protest, this is a bond forged in an experience like no other.

I decided to go out this year to test some new ideas for activism and protest at conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Evansville Indiana. I wanted this to be a one man protest and planned to go alone. The goal was to give a voice to the voiceless, to create cognitive dissonance in people that wish to ignore actual truth in favor of “The Truth”, and to give them a chance to connect to the emotions of those on the outside. This was done by exposing them to real audio recordings from the Shunned Podcast here, featuring poignant moments from guests that I hope might resonate with someone there. Activism can take many forms, and this is my chosen form for the day in question.

I decided to go out this year to test some new ideas for activism and protest at conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Evansville Indiana. I wanted this to be a one man protest and planned to go alone. The goal was to give a voice to the voiceless, to create cognitive dissonance in people that wish to ignore actual truth in favor of “The Truth”, and to give them a chance to connect to the emotions of those on the outside. This was done by exposing them to real audio recordings from the Shunned Podcast here, featuring poignant moments from guests that I hope might resonate with someone there. Activism can take many forms, and this is my chosen form for the day in question.

Throughout Greg’s life in the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he observed the hypocrisy and lack of love in the congregation. People were appointed to positions based on who they knew. They were dealt with judicially, with determinations of their fates being based on who they knew as well. Eventually Greg would have to leave his life as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses behind to find himself.

Support the show and get bonuses as well by donating to the cause on our Patreon page, Patreon.com/shunned

Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let’s talk. I have affordable programs to help as a certified life coach with a focus on cult recovery. Click HERE for more information.

Want more resources? Go to my other website exjwHelp.com

You can join The Uprising Project and get help with your career, small business, and finances by going to: https://theuprisingproject.com/join/

Leave us a review on iTunes

Find shunned podcast on Youtube, including new VIDcasts here.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

You can listen to the Shunned Podcast Spotify playlist here for all of the songs chosen by guests of the show.

This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app. 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.

An ExJW podcast and ExJW YouTube Channel

Whether it is aligning people against you, telling you that you can’t trust people on the outside, or trying to convince you that you’re crazy, a person that is gaslighting you can wreak havoc on your relationships. When that person isn’t just one person but an entire cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses and it is everyone that you know, you don’t stand a chance at having good relationships with others or yourself.

This is the sixth in a series where I’ll break down the ways that the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses is actively breaking individuals down, from what they do to why they do it to the real fruitage that it produces in those impacted by it. Learning what it looks like can help us to see remnants that may lie within ourselves, and perhaps even relationships that we may have kept or gravitated toward in our post-cult lives.

Support the show by donating to the cause on our Patreon page, Patreon.com/shunned

Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let’s talk. I have affordable programs to help as a certified life coach. Click HERE for more information.

Want more resources? Go to my other website exjwHelp.com

You can join The Uprising Project and get help with your career, small business, and finances by going to: https://theuprisingproject.com/join/

Leave us a review on iTunes

Find shunned podcast on Youtube, including new VIDcasts here.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

You can listen to the Shunned Podcast Spotify playlist here for all of the songs chosen by guests of the show.

This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app. 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.

An ExJW podcast and ExJW YouTube Channel