Introduction

Well hello reader!

I go by Deb as my Ex-JW alter ego, and there is some background to it, but that'll be a post for another day. I am in my mid-thirties, have a young son and I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. I was baptized at 10 years old, featured on assembly parts, regularly auxiliary pioneered, blah blah blah, and married at age 23. Now I am separated, soon to be divorced, and have been free from the organization for almost a year and a half. I was also PIMO for about the same length of time before stepping away completely and boy was it a journey.

If you so happened to stumble across my humble blog, you likely are either an Ex-JW or a current JW on the fence. Welcome, as you'll probably be able to relate the most!! If you are a dedicated and loyal servant of Jehovah with your eyes set "firmly on the prize", this blog may not be for you...unless you're ready to hear some real truth about the "truth" mixed in with some of my personal experiences and anecdotes, of course.

For my readers who have never been a JW, your knowledge may be limited to experiences with coworkers, classmates, or family, or even through the occasional joke on TV, and I'd like to state that in general JWs are nice, well-meaning individuals, as you've likely found. But the religion itself and the practices it encourages are harmful to the family structure and the mental and physical health of their members. The Ex-JW community is growing and working hard to spread the truths they try to sugarcoat or keep hidden. I encourage you to research the organization outside of the sources the religion itself provides and when in the presence of JWs ask the hard-hitting questions. You will quickly find that you will have questions that will remain unanswered, while being given responses you are told not to question. Very telling.

In this blog, I will document some of my current struggles and triumphs in building a life after being a practicing Jehovah's Witness from childbirth to 33 years of age. I will also make posts discussing fundamental issues with the organization in relation to how they have impacted myself and others directly, and then offset those with some of the throwback (at times comical) stories of my time in the organization, because you know, balance. Stay tuned! 😉