Though I am a devout Catholic, I enjoy learning about other religions/ belief systems. I watched Leah Remini’s series on Scientology, so when I found her book at a church rummage sale, I decided to give it a try.
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology shares Leah Remini’s experience making it as an actress while living in a cult.
Indoctrinated into the church as a child while living with her mother and sister in New York, Remini eventually moved to Los Angeles, where her dreams of becoming an actress and advancing Scientology’s causes grew increasingly intertwined. As an adult, she found the success she’d worked so hard for, and with it a prominent place in the hierarchy of celebrity Scientologists alongside people such as Tom Cruise, Scientology’s most high-profile adherent. Remini spent time directly with Cruise and was included among the guests at his 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes.
But when she began to raise questions about some of the church’s actions, she found herself a target. In the end, she was declared by the church to be a threat to their organization and therefore a “Suppressive Person,” and as a result, all of her fellow parishioners—including members of her own family—were told to disconnect from her. Forever.
Bold, brash, and bravely confessional, Troublemaker chronicles Leah Remini’s remarkable journey toward emotional and spiritual freedom, both for herself and for her family. This is a memoir designed to reveal the hard-won truths of a life lived honestly—from an author unafraid of the consequences.
I thought the book was interesting, but it wasn’t really my cup of tea.
The subject matter was fascinating. Remini has a strong voice, and you could definitely connect her voice in the book to how she speaks in the television show. I admired her honesty in the book, and I think she provided a fair perspective. I really respect that she admitted her own faults.
Though the Scientology aspect was interesting (albeit disturbing), I was less interested in Remini’s description of her career. I’m sure this would be a great book for Remini fans, but as someone who only knows of Remini because of her TV series on Scientology, those parts fell flat for me. Like the TV show, the book gets a little crass, but it isn’t too bad. A minor annoyance for me was her misrepresentations of Catholicism, but that is such a small factor. I also heard that she is now Catholic, so I imagine her own understanding of Catholicism has developed.
This is going to be a first (and probably an only) for me, but if you’re looking to learn more about Scientology, I recommend watching her TV show instead. That being said, the book did have some major positives, so though I am only rating it three stars, I think there are a lot of people out there who would really enjoy it.