Episodes

Young Jacob was diagnosed with cancer at just 5 years of age and suddenly found himself in different environments that garnered attention. However, as he would move on throughout his life, Jacob would find himself on the outside looking in, trying to be good enough to qualify to do the things that he saw other Jehovah’s Witnesses doing around him. Jacob discusses these matters, living with autism in the congregation, and how he came to realize that he was raised in a cult.

The paper that Jacob wrote about the BITE model and Jehovah’s Witnesses can be found at:
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/bwi43n/jehovahs_witnesses_religious_cult/?share_id=X6gItqQ6FhpLimP6ExXvf&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

The song that Jacob chose to represent his story is Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional.

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 apply to be included in The Uprising Project, where we will be working to lift the ExJW community financially by bringing new opportunities to it, and get more information at: https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

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

Through gaslighting, one person or one group of people can become the reality check for an individual, whether that person wanted that reality check or not. A person is systematically broken down, detaching from themselves and attaching to the one doing the gaslighting. Cults often employ gaslighting to get oneness of mind, unity, sameness. Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t just tell you what to think and how you should feel, they also demonize what YOU actually think and how YOU actually feel. Your thoughts and feelings are gradually replaced with theirs, as you start to doubt yourself and look to them to tell you if you’re right or wrong in what you think, feel, and how you want to behave in this world.

This is the first 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 apply to be included in The Uprising Project, where we will be working to lift the ExJW community financially by bringing new opportunities to it, and get more information at: https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

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

Getting baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses is a forever contract with a cult. In Justin’s case, that decision to get dunked in a pool of water was made as a young man, a young man that knew he was gay. Because of that, ultimately he would never be able to be what they wanted him to be. He realized that if he were ever to be disfellowshipped from the cult because he was now an official member and they see being gay as a gross sin, he could now lose contact with his mother, the person that he cared about more than anything.

The song that Justin chose to represent his journey is Brand New Me by Alicia Keys.

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 apply to be included in The Uprising Project, where we will be working to lift the ExJW community financially by bringing new opportunities to it, and get more information at: https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

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

The Covid-19 pandemic brought a lot of change to the world. Many started to wear masks for protection. But for many Jehovah’s Witnesses, their facial freedom was about to be granted as a result of something that is seemingly totally unrelated. Will these bearded brothers continue to grow their beards bred in captivity, or will they eventually become the free range beards that we all wish for them? Only time will tell, but this pandemic left its mark on the formerly fresh faces of these men.

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 apply to be included in The Uprising Project, where we will be working to lift the ExJW community financially by bringing new opportunities to it, and get more information at: https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

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

Finding a way out of a cult is one of the hardest things that a human can do. To find one’s own way free, to take a stand against everything you’ve ever known while knowing that it will cost you dearly, is hard. For many it costs them their entire family, and in this episode I talk with a couple that made it out together. That comes with its own unique challenges, and Natasha and Ben were open in discussing their struggles and victories along this path. Under the cover of Zoom meetings held during the height of Covid, Ben saw a path out of the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Listen to find out what that path was and how both of them found their way to freedom.

The song that Natasha chose to represent her journey is New Beginnings by Moonlight Scorpio, Equanimous, and Nyrus. The song that Ben chose to represent his journey is Anthem Part 2 by Blink 182.

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 apply to be included in The Uprising Project, where we will be working to lift the ExJW community financially by bringing new opportunities to it, and get more information at: https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

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

Many people don’t realize that Jehovah’s Witnesses were among the many that were persecuted and brutally murdered by the German Nazi Party. Growing up, this was put to me as both a source of unusual pride but was also used to instill fear in me that someday this would likely happen again… to us, because it was always about us. We were told many JW centered stories about the event, and although I always knew intellectually that it was primarily the Jewish people that were targeted, it always felt like the event was really focused on us as Jehovah’s Witnesses. A trip in 2023 to St. Louis, and a spontaneous visit to the Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum that we didn’t know existed until we were there, sparked a lot of feelings about that event and the portrayal of it by the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is my personal experience.

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 apply to be included in The Uprising Project, where we will be working to lift the ExJW community financially by bringing new opportunities to it, and get more information at: https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

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

Tana was raised in a home where her parents weren’t on the same page. Her mother, a devout participant in the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses, raised her to follow that path. Her father, a racist man that struggled with alcohol and rode bikes, clearly had other views of life. These differences caused her tremendous problems growing up, but when a blood transfusion was needed for a 15 year old and disfellowshipped Tana after a horrific accident, it was Tana’s father that came in to save the day.

The song that Tana chose to represent her journey is Closer by Goapele.

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 apply to be included in The Uprising Project, where we will be working to lift the ex-JW community financially by bringing new opportunities to it, and get more information at: https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

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.

Behold the tale of the Smurf doll and the Kingdom Hall. A legend told by adult Jehovah’s Witnesses that made it across the United States and to other continents as well. Learn about this legend, and share your own stories of demons and fear promoted by the cult below in the comments.

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 apply to be included in The Uprising Project, where we will be working to lift the ex-JW community financially by bringing new opportunities to it, and get more information at: https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

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.

When Caressa’s 18 year old sister started dating a “brother” from another congregation that was 37, an elder close to the family said that he didn’t like the guy and that he was bad news and that they shouldn’t be dating. No details were given, but it was foreboding. For the next few years Caressa, just 8 years of age, would face the abuse of that man. In time her story would come out, but unfortunately it would fall on deaf ears in the congregation, despite taking it to the police. A full decade later that “brother” in the congregation, still in good standing, would harm more innocent children and the congregation would disfellowship him. Who knows how many people he may have hurt in all of that time.

For Caressa, this life of abuse and manipulation from her family, the cult, and this predator, left her no safe space. At the age of 17 she would ghost her family in search of safety, and a life of her own. This is her story.

The song that Caressa chose to represent her story is Redemption Song by Bob Marley

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 apply to be included in The Uprising Project, where we will be working to lift the ex-JW community financially by bringing new opportunities to it, and get more information at: https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

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.

The Uprising Project is a new initiative in the community of former Jehovah’s Witnesses to help these individuals with opportunities to find financial footing in a world that they were isolated from. According to one study by Pew Research of various religions and their incomes, Jehovah’s Witnesses had the lowest percentage of six figure household incomes at just 4%, while having the second highest percentage of household incomes below $30,000 per year at 48%*.

As a cult that promotes financial control by discouraging the pursuit of education, demonizing networking with anyone that is not of the same faith, and encouraging a lifestyle of devoting as much time to their religious pursuits as possible, it is no wonder that the group would struggle financially. Add to all of that the psychological warfare of abuse that leaves many feeling like they have no intrinsic value as an individual, and the subsequent extreme shunning for those that leave the group, and many continue to struggle after leaving. Financial stability is the basic ability to survive, and people need to survive before they can truly ever heal and have a possibility to thrive. The Uprising Project seeks to bring resources into the community to help individuals rise from the effects of prior abuses.

Applications for inclusion in this project can be found at:
https://exjwhelp.com/the-uprising-project/

The Rights and Religions Forum, and the Fellowship mentioned in the episode, can be found at:
https://rarforum.org/fellows/

*https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/10/11/how-income-varies-among-u-s-religious-groups/

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

Leave us a review on iTunes

Find shunned podcast on Youtube, including new VIDcasts here.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

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.