was raised a witness, left when i was 20. several attempts to leave were snuffed out by my parents promising i wouldn't have a place to live if i left the religion! i gave it a good try and became a regular pioneer. i went Extreme JW just to see if could do it. i couldn't so i made the decision to leave. elders were knocking on my door as i packed to move. my roommate told me later that they showed up the afternoon i moved out (i heard they were coming and moved out in the morning) somewhere out there my publisher record sits dry and dusty in a congregations record books. since leaving i've been able to pursue athletic goals, which is great fun since i wasn't allowed to play sports growing up! overall i'm quite happy and content with my life. but every so often i feel a bit broken by the way i was raised and i'm still trying to stabilize my identity as an individual. that's why i'm here! thanks for reading....