Adam's reaction to reading Beyond Belief
Hi,
So I finished reading "Beyond Belief" and I have a comment for Jenna, but I don't have her contact info, so I'll share here and hope she reads it.
Since leaving CLO Canada, I have shared a common concern for all the SO members I left behind, for the pains they are going through. Children have a particularly harsh experience, and when they're feeling down, you can see it plainly. The youngest staff member at the Canadian base during my involvement was Melissa Pilon. Having seen her go the full route from happy to confused to broken (we arrived and routed out in roughly the same 2 year timeframe), I have felt particularly bad for her. Recruited in the Sea Org at 12, she was actually twice Jenna's age by the time she started living in an org.
Having read about Jenna's experience starting at 6 years old, it really is "beyond belief" and in several ways worse then what I saw Melissa go through. There were things I wish I had told Melissa that none of the other SO members would think to say, like how school is actually really important, or that nobody should make lifetime commitments as a child. Last I heard, she has relocated from Toronto to Clearwater, and is probably back in the Sea Org at Flag -- persuing the only life she's ever known. Her situation seems hopeless, but now we have cause for optimism: If Jenna escaped and has made a life for herself, then it is fair to assume that Melissa will survive this too.
Thanks for telling your story, Jenna. It serves as a warning and a reason for hope.
-Adam
So I finished reading "Beyond Belief" and I have a comment for Jenna, but I don't have her contact info, so I'll share here and hope she reads it.
Since leaving CLO Canada, I have shared a common concern for all the SO members I left behind, for the pains they are going through. Children have a particularly harsh experience, and when they're feeling down, you can see it plainly. The youngest staff member at the Canadian base during my involvement was Melissa Pilon. Having seen her go the full route from happy to confused to broken (we arrived and routed out in roughly the same 2 year timeframe), I have felt particularly bad for her. Recruited in the Sea Org at 12, she was actually twice Jenna's age by the time she started living in an org.
Having read about Jenna's experience starting at 6 years old, it really is "beyond belief" and in several ways worse then what I saw Melissa go through. There were things I wish I had told Melissa that none of the other SO members would think to say, like how school is actually really important, or that nobody should make lifetime commitments as a child. Last I heard, she has relocated from Toronto to Clearwater, and is probably back in the Sea Org at Flag -- persuing the only life she's ever known. Her situation seems hopeless, but now we have cause for optimism: If Jenna escaped and has made a life for herself, then it is fair to assume that Melissa will survive this too.
Thanks for telling your story, Jenna. It serves as a warning and a reason for hope.
-Adam
The price of escaping may be everything. I know. But when it feels like nothing is left, remember the only thing you need is to believe in yourself.