SamIam1976
JoinedI was born and raised in this religion my parents where suckered into this cult in the mid/late 60's and married each other in 1972. I was born in 1976 in Augusta, Maine. I have a brother who now lives in NJ with his wife and son. He pretends I don't exist; He's still very much an active participant of the JW cult. I also have 2 sisters both of which have totally rejected the JW religion and its doctrine. One of my sisters had her first child at the age of 16. She is now 21 and has 3 kids and lives in a homeless shelter. My youngest sister is somewhere in Augusta area. She hasn't contacted me in over a month since she was removed along with my other sister from my parents home last month. I left the safety of my home in 1997 just before turning 21. I mentally left the religion when I turned 18/19 maybe earlier I really don't remember when it all hit me that I had been raised in a lie. But the year 1997 was a very hard year for me. I went through a self-destructive phase for about 6 months of that year but in the summer of 1997 I think fate guided me to my husband. I have been married to him since 1999 and now have two beautiful children ages 4 and 19 months. It's taken me 11 years to fully take control of my life but now I can say with conviction that I am no longer a Jehovah's Witness and I am proud to say that they have no control over me or my choices in the way I live my life. I am loved, I am happy and best of all God has given me 3 great gifts to enjoy for the rest of my life. I will always be grateful to Him for never forgetting about me and keeping me safe while I was searching for my freedom and my soul-mate 8 years ago.