My first post here - - wanted to give my story, too. Raised a JW, stayed in out of fear, painted myself into a corner and currently struggling to get out completely. I know lots of people would say they don't respect someone who knows they don't want to stay but is staying for other reasons, like family & friends or whatever. I can understand that, but for me, just having the freedom to think about whether WTS claims are true or not is a big step to take. Surprised by what I've already found out, and I've been forced to realize mistakes I've made because of not listening to my inner voice and spending my life trying to please everyone around me, which is how I painted myself into this corner in the first place!
Family is the real problem for me and I'm trying to sort out whether I want to say something about not believing anymore, or if I just want to slowly "fall away". Faking it through meetings has been real hard lately, and I can't keep doing it, so something has got to change. But I still want to do more research before I talk to anyone about what I don't agree with, because I want to be far away from that "fence" by that time so I don't fall for the fear and guilt trips again.
I don't feel guilty about anything now, which is a nice change and I'm finding out the scary stuff about the world was all lies.
Also, all the stuff I've read here on this forum has really helped, because I've haven't had anyone to talk to honestly about any of this, so thanks to all of you.