shunned

Episode 127 - "If he kills me, we won't be married in paradise anymore, right?"

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

During a meeting with the congregation elders about her abusive husband, JoHannah asked the question that is the title of this episode. Trying to get ...

Episode 126 - Gay At Bethel - Harrison is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Harrison lived a life full of change and drama growing up. A mother that was dependent on alcohol and disfellowshipped from the cult of Jehovah's Witn...

Episode 125 - Make It Be True - Elizabeth is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After a night spent with her boyfriend talking, a relationship that as one of Jehovah's Witnesses she wasn't supposed to have because he wasn't in the...

Episode 124 - Confusion - Escaping A Life Of Contradiction

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Amanda travels the United States but is not allowed to have friends as a kid, both outside OR inside of the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. Amanda isn't ...

9/2/22 - Your Chance To Help - ExJwHelp Day 2022

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

To participate by donating to the cause, you can donate here (I will personally match the first $200 dollar for dollar): https://www.paypal.com/paypal...

Episode 123 - Waiting On Death Row - A PIMO Speaks Out

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The cult of Jehovah's Witnesses has some interesting takes on life and death. On one hand, as today's guest puts it, Jehovah's Witnesses give up on li...

Episode 122 - Family Matters

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chris comes from a large family of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Montgomery Alabama area. Being from a big family can result in big family drama though, ...

Episode 121 - Reading Apostate Material At The Meeting During The CO Visit

29 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sitting at a meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses, during the circuit overseer's visit, a young Dylan was facing a crisis of disconnection. As he realized t...

Episode 120 - How To Go To College - ExJwHelp #1

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Coming from a cult that actively discouraged even basic education at times, it can be daunting to even contemplate trying to pursue higher education. ...

Episode 119 - Going Back

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Being raised in the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses involves being taught to chase love. If a person can only be good enough, one day their god will love ...

Episode 118 - Bethel Burnout

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From the time he was 12, Matt had to work. With his father's vices taking the family's money and groceries to put on the table, Matt stepped up. That ...

Episode 117 - Headship Hardships

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jehovah's Witnesses promote men to the role of head of the family, and of the congregation. Keion, as a brother in the congregation and also as a fami...

Episode 116 - The Invisible Aubrey

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up with parents that were not only Jehovah's Witnesses but also suffering from their own addictions and mental/emotional struggles, Aubrey fel...

Episode 115 - I Am Enough

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Five year old boys should be walking around full of wonder about dinosaurs and big trucks, not full of shame. Imagine stumbling on things at such a yo...

Episode 114 - Never A JW But Still Shunned

23 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Wayne was never one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and had nothing to do with the cult. Later in life circumstances would change, however, as his sister woul...

Episode 113 - A Great Spiritual Heritage

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Going back five generations in the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses, back to the origins of what we know today by that name, Heath's family runs deep in it...

Episode 112 - Paternity Fraud

25 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Amber never knew her dad growing up. She looked around and saw other people with dads, including her step-siblings, and wanted the same. So when she w...

Episode 111 - MTS Graduate Is Shunned

12 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever watched the show Seinfeld then you know that sometimes spite is a good motivator. In Jared's case, spite motivated him to attend Minist...

Episode 110 - Shattered Illusions

25 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At just 12 years of age, Jacelly got baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses with the promise of a great life. Shortly thereafter her illusions were sh...

Episode 109 - What Do You REALLY Have?

11 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of self-harm. The words spoken by her therapist in rehab, "In this religion, what do you really have...

Episode 108 - Family Secrets

28 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Like most kids growing up, Ali wanted to know that someone was in her corner. But the adults in her life had their own issues, issues that would preve...

Episode 107 - Cloak Of Secrecy

14 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Many Jehovah's Witnesses are holding secrets. In Chevoy's life, the secrecy around her father's actions meant that she would have to learn to find her...

Episode 106 - No Safe Place

01 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Struggling in school with dyslexia, struggling at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses because her family was looked down on as being spiritually w...

Episode 105 - In Memory Of Sarah

17 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When we lose the ones we love, we say some words. We remember them. We reminisce about the good times, and it's for the memory of the ones we lose as ...

Episode 104 - Education Matters

04 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

College is not the place for a Jehovah's Witness youth. That message was received by a 7 year old Lin, the very first time something seemed like it wa...

Episode 103 - Threatened For Reporting Abuse

20 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Trigger Warning – This episode deals with abuse and suicide. Born in raised in a family that looked the part of good Jehovah's Witnesses, Nicole kne...

Episode 102 - A JW Misfit

23 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some people that were Jehovah's Witnesses simply hated every second of it. Jael is one such person. From an early age she knew that it wasn't for her,...

Episode 101 - Don't You EVER Embarrass Me

09 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

At the age of 11 or 12 Nia saw something happen that many Jehovah's Witnesses see, one of the teenagers in her congregation was disfellowshipped. But ...

Episode 100 - 100 Things You Need To Know To Heal From Jehovah's Witnesses

25 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With four years of long-form personal stories from ten different cults and over 615,000 individual listens and views across many platforms, Shunned ha...

Episode Ninety Nine - Role Play

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Often when we grow up we are given roles to play in life. Whether we pick these up by observing the adults around us or we pick them up in our respons...

Episode Ninety Eight - Human Kintsugi

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Trigger Warning: This episode contains frank discussions of sexual abuse and suicide. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of taking items like broken pottery...

Announcing Ex-JW Help Day 2021

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Join in on the inaugural Ex-JW Help Day event on September 2 2021 by performing random acts of kindness in your community. For more information see: ...

Episode Ninety Seven - Save Yourself

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The only reason I got baptized was…….I wanted to save my ass." The cult of Jehovah's Witnesses promote fear of death at the hands of their genoci...

Episode Ninety Six - AltWorldly Tells His Story

31 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"So I can never change my mind. I can never leave. And I remember having the thought that I am trapped. That was the first time I realized that you ca...

Episode Ninety Four - It Never Felt Right

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Honestly I just always felt horrible about going, it never felt like this was my calling or this was where I needed to be. It was quite the opposite ...

Introducing: I Am Rama

22 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rama was a spiritual teacher in the 80s and 90s who inspired many of his students while leading what many of his detractors would call a cult.  He de...

Episode Ninety Three - Last Man Standing

19 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"It's all F.E.A.R. They have that over your head with everything. Fear of Armageddon, fear of being shunned, fear of not doing enough, and at that age...

Episode Ninety Two - Shunned During A Pandemic

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Raised by a mother that wasn't truly one of Jehovah's Witnesses in practice but that still made her children live a JW lifestyle, Za'kaeda had trouble...

Episode Ninety One - My Husband Said I'm A Sex Addict

22 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I remember my husband saying 'you are a sex addict' but I'm not. I just waited 21 years of my life for this thing and I thought it was going to happe...

Episode Ninety - How You Treat People Matters

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I'm a nuts and bolts kind of guy. I see how people are treated. Doctrine can be twisted and turned and however you want to interpret the Bible is how...

Episode Eighty Nine - To The Moon And Back

23 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Note: This is the second of back to back episodes on the Unification Church, often referred to as the Moonies, named after their leader Sun Myung Moon...

Episode Eighty Eight - Do You Know Where My Family Is?

09 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Note: This is the first of back to back episodes on the Unification Church, often referred to as the Moonies, named after their leader Sun Myung Moon....

Episode Eighty Seven - It Felt Like Jehovah Hated Us

27 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jehovah's Witnesses claim to be a religion guided by love. Throughout Joe's story a common them arises though: "where is the love?". We know that they...

Episode Eighty Six - A Need-Greater In The Dominican Republic

12 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"In a way I felt like I was better than everyone else in the world, because I knew the truth. I was one of the few that was going to be saved at Armag...

Episode Eighty Five - Taking A Stand At 19

28 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

At just 19 years old, when others are experiencing life for the first time after high school whether going to college or starting their lives, Isaiah ...

Episode Eighty Four - All She Did Was Ask A Question

13 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Have you ever wondered if this is actually the truth?" Such a simple question. Something that one would think might be a natural question when a pers...

Episode Eighty Three - Laurel - Growing up in and leaving Scientology

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is it like to grow up as a child in Scientology? Not as a celebrity, nor anyone with clout, but as an average person going to a local church and ...

Episode Eighty Two - Geoff is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

14 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The underground. As Jehovah's Witnesses we were trained for the possibility that someday we would have to go underground and do our public preaching w...

Episode Eighty One - Suzanna is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

02 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"How do you get kicked out of church?" These are the words of Suzanna's brother as he tried to wrap his mind around her shunning. Her journey starts a...

Episode Eighty - Ramil is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

18 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What is it like to move around the country multiple times as a child? To not have a consistent place to live? To be placed into foster care at times? ...

Episode Seventy Nine - Allison is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One of the things that really stands out at times is how much people put into following these high control groups, or cults, and how little it takes t...

Episode Seventy Eight - Z is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

22 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

y Jehovah's Witnesses "God isn't with you. Don't kill yourself. You can get through this even if you have to do it alone." Those are the words of 10...

Episode Seventy Seven - Kim is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kim grew up in a home where she was to be seen and not heard. Her family was also in a cult where people are to be seen and not heard. Jehovah's Witne...

Episode Seventy Six - Seth is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

20 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"They weren't there to help me; I'm not going to let them judge me." These were Seth's words as so much in his life came to a head. The loss of his mo...

Episode Seventy Five - Kayla is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

08 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Note: This episode gets very real, including potential triggers surrounding suicide and sexual assault. It is important to discuss the realities of th...

Episode Seventy Four - LaShanda is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

25 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kidnapped at the age of 6 years old by her mother, LaShanda's life had a rough start. Many around her were struggling with mental health issues, subst...

Episode Seventy Three - Jen is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

10 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At just 19 years old Jen had a moment where she realized that "this is going to be the rest of my life". That thought made her shudder. Listen to find...

Episode Seventy Two - Ramo is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"From an early age I accepted that I was garbage. I was not going to survive Armageddon. I knew I wasn't going to make it. I knew I wasn't good enough...

Episode Seventy One - Mitch is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"I'm not sorry for who I am." When you think about that statement and life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, it holds certain weight. But what if you wer...

Episode Seventy - Angela is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

31 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Angela was a born-in member of Jehovah's Witnesses. Although it was all that she ever knew, she could see that some things didn't add up from an early...

Success Stories - 3 - Like A River Cutting Through Rock

26 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence. As Jehovah's Witnesses we were taught endurance, how to put up wi...

Episode Sixty Nine - Stephanie is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

18 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One reason that people are attracted to cults is that they are looking for stability in life. They may feel vulnerable and are looking for answers, so...

Episode Sixty Eight - Mario is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

02 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"I should have gotten the abortion", the words of Mario's mother when he was disfellowshipped at a young age from the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. Som...

Success Stories - 2 - Using Your Time, Treasure and Talent

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us most of our lives were spent devoting our assets to "Kingdom interests" as Jehovah's Witnesses. We literally counted the hours spent pu...

Episode Sixty Seven - Ryan is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

20 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Either you get baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses or you die. These are the two options presented to most young kids growing up in the cult. Often...

Episode Sixty Six - The TRUTH About Disfellowshipping

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jehovah's Witnesses have a practice called "disfellowshipping" that at one point long ago even Watchtower estimated at costing them 70,000 members per...

Success Stories - 1- From GED to MIT

04 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the first episode of the Shunned Success Stories series. In this episode we meet Kelsey and get to learn from her path as she went from a h...

Episode Sixty Five - Daniel A. is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

28 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A third generation Jehovah's Witness from Puerto Rico, Daniel often had an identity crisis despite being surrounded by a cult that dominated so much o...

Episode Sixty Four - Karamat is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

16 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The year was 2014. The event was the annual meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses streamed all over the world. And then it happened……."Tight Pants Tony" ...

Episode Sixty Three - Dani is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The last episode was the story of Aaron, and in it he mentioned a particular couple in the congregation that he was close to. That friendship ended i...

Episode Sixty Two - Aaron is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

18 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Aaron was born into the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses and never fully bought into the life that he was given. Knowing from a young age that he was gay h...

Episode Sixty One - Joseph H is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Joseph's story starts at the beginning, no not his beginning, all the way back at the beginning of the organization now known as Jehovah's Witnesses. ...

Episode Sixty - Laura is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

14 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"All of your worth is only as a JW" is a quote and common theme from Laura's story of falling for a young man that was one of Jehovah's Witnesses in h...

Episode Fifty Nine - Cassandra is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

23 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It is tough enough to be born into a cult and to not fit in with the people surrounding you outside the group, but sometimes you're born into a family...

Episode Fifty Eight - Derek is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

09 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

People get baptized as Jehovah's Witnesses for a myriad of reasons. Peer pressure, parental pressure, sometimes people feel like it will fix something...

Episode Fifty Seven - Alexa is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

24 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alexa was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses but never baptized, and she faces shunning for a life she didn't want and never officially even joined....

Episode Fifty Six - Nina is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

23 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Disfellowshipped twice by the age of 18 and reproved multiple times as well, Nina lived a very tumultuous life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Hers was...

Episode Fifty Four - Rebecca is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Disfellowshipped for her second time at the age of 19, Rebecca was kicked out of her house. She had always led a double life, the one that she wanted,...

Episode Fifty Three - Joaquin is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Joaquin had a life like many as one of Jehovah's witnesses. Trying to please a parent, trying to stay within the lines, but struggling as he got older...

Episode Fifty Two - Taira is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

17 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There are aspects of life that we typically see as something we should encourage people to do, like fostering and/or adopting children. We all want to...

Episode Fifty One - Serena is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

16 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"I never felt like I could be good enough" is a common refrain among former Jehovah's Witnesses, and it is how Serena felt in her life when she was a...

Episode Fifty - Updates on guests from 2017 and 2018

15 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fifty episodes. Fifty long form discussions looking into the lives of people that share the pain of shunning from cults or high-control religious grou...

Episode Forty Nine - Xitlalitl is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

14 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Xitlalitl was raised in a family impacted by borderline personality disorder as well as the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. The former created many issue...

Episode Forty Eight - Kelsey is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kelsey was a kid that grew up sincere as one of Jehovah's Witnesses but that ultimately followed his heart and lived a "double life". He always felt l...

Episode Forty Seven - The Fangsruds are shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

30 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Four siblings, all free from the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses, all with their own paths out. In this interview you will meet all of them and get their ...

Episode Forty Six - Candace is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

14 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First let's acknowledge that this is my first ever video interview as well as being in podcast form. So if you want you can watch the two of us talk o...

Episode Forty Five - Tamara SW is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

30 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"I love you with all my heart but I have to leave before it turns into anything less than love." This beautiful sentiment was expressed by a 17 year o...

Episode Forty Four - Cassie is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

16 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is being released today, November 16, in honor of Cassie's brother Brandon. One of the things that Jehovah's Witnesses do poorly is suppo...

Episode Forty Three - Matthew is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

15 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're going to meet Matthew from Australia. For a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses they find themselves just riding the wave, doing what they have to ...

Episode Forty Two - Daniel SP is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

29 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

You can tell in this conversation that Daniel is a really humble and sincere guy. This conversation deal with the way Jehovah's Witnesses make natural...

Episode Forty One - Joseph is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

04 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode really touches on so many different pitfalls of life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses as seen through the life of one person. We talk about ...

Episode Forty - Renee is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

19 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're going to meet Renee. This is a story of profound loneliness played out over decades, surviving an abusive home and life in a cult, and com...

Episode Thirty Nine - Corrie is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

06 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're going to meet Corrie. Her son Nico was featured back in April on episode 29. Now we get to hear her story and she does a really good job o...

Episode Thirty Eight - Nicole's Life With Jehovah's Witnesses

24 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Nicole was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. This is a tough story to listen to and my heart goes out to her but she has overcome a truly traumati...

Episode Thirty Seven - Adrian is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

10 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Adrian was raised one of Jehovah's Witnesses, born into the cult. His father even believed himself to be one of the 144,000 chosen to go to heaven. Yo...

Episode Thirty Six - Linda is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

26 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Linda was a devout Jehovah's Witness, one that believed it all and really put her heart and soul into it. Today she's been out of the organization fo...

Episode Thirty Five - Andie is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

14 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Today we are talking with Andie, formerly one of Jehovah's Witnesses. This story really involves so many things. First, we're talking about a family t...

Episode Thirty Four - Lyla is shunned by Die Uitverkore Volk (The Chosen People)

29 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we're going to meet Lyla Illing from South Africa, now living in New York City. She was involved in a cult early in her life that, tra...

Episode Thirty Three - Naomi is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

15 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Naomi was raised in one of those JW families that didn't have a tv and that limited books because they were reflective of Satan's world. Their lives, ...

Episode Thirty Two - James Schwartz - Growing Up Gay and Amish

01 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

James was a member of the Old Order Swiss Amish but James is gay and that obviously caused a lot of difficulty for him. Just this week he had his stor...