Going Clear

Going Clear Audiobook

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Review #1

Going Clear audiobook free

This book boldly delves into the highly contentious subject of Scientology, raising important questions about its nature. The author, Wright, demonstrates thorough research by personally interviewing numerous former Scientologists and shedding light on the sinister practices within the organization, particularly the Sea Org and various forms of abuse. Remarkably, despite the sensitive nature of his revelations, Wright appears to have avoided legal action from the Church of Scientology, likely due to the truthfulness of his accounts, which serves as a defense against defamation claims. In the book’s conclusion, he suggests that Scientology may not be inherently worse than other neo-religions like the Mormons that emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries. Inspired by the impact of this book, I plan to delve into Amy Scobee’s “Scientology – Abuse at the Top” to further expand my understanding.

Review #2

Going Clear audiobook

The title of this book aptly captures its essence. It unveils a world that is undeniably a prison, both for the mind and the body. Certain sections of the book left me genuinely disturbed, yet I found myself unable to resist its grip. It presents a captivating and thought-provoking narrative, serving as a cautionary tale for those contemplating involvement with this particular “religion.” I strongly advise against it after absorbing the eye-opening insights this book provides.

Review #3

Audiobook Going Clear by Lawrence Wright

This was by far the most insightful and well researched book on L Ron Hubbard, David Miscavige and Scientology that I have ever read.

In researching the material for the book the author and his assistants spoke with an unprecedented number of people (some 250 or so) who studied, witnessed and/or were part of the history of Scientology and its leaders.

The bibliography of the Scientology sources, media, books, articles and manuscript collections that the author consulted in studying the subjects shows the great pain that was clearly taken not only to be thorough with the facts in the book but also to try to analyze the true story behind those facts and what it was that made both Hubbard and Miscavige (Scientology’s two main leaders over the years) what they were.

I believe Lawrence Wright has accomplished that well beyond anything ever published. And he did it in an objective, professional way while constantly striving to be fair.

There are also some 42 pages of detailed notes near the end of the book where the author gives his sources for what he wrote in the book, page by page. Simply amazing!

In my opinion this book could not even have been written had not Project Chanology Anonymous (acknowledged in the book) suddenly made it possible for thousands to come forward and speak out without being destroyed by Scientology’s intelligence and litigation machine designed to stop others from freely speaking out.

Where one or a few of us have managed to speak out before or even protest, suddenly thousands donned the mask and marched in unison and in protest starting on February 10, 2008. The beauty of that was how it opened the door to many others coming out, speaking and taking a stance. This had turned the tide. Organized Scientology could not stop them and they were joined by so many others who finally saw they could stand up and speak out.

Simply put, without the actions started by Anonymous in 2008 many of the sources for this book would not have felt safe to come out and tell the truth.Thus this book could not have been written.

A great deal (but not hardly all) of the facts covered in this book have been covered before. But the book lays out those facts in a clear, concise manner that helps the reader to understand not only the story of scientology but what it was that made its leaders what they became.

The author compassionately explores the life of L Ron Hubbard from his childhood, through his marriages, his time in the military, his friendships, his loves and his early writings. In countless writings and recordings about Hubbard in the past (if only on internet forum postings) writers often debated and tried to understand Hubbard as clearly one or the other: kind or cruel, a liar or a man of truth, sane or insane, a conman or an honest man, an abuser or a healer.

I think what the author tried to show was that Hubbard at different points was all of the above.

Combining Hubbard’s own Affirmations with how he actually led his life, in my opinion the author gives a highly insightful perspective of Hubbard. It can be found on page 54 of this book:

“If one looks behind the Affirmations to the condition they are meant to correct one sees a man who is ashamed of his tendency to fabricate personal stories, who is conflicted about his sexual needs, and who worries about his mortality. He has a predatory view of women but at the same time fears their power to humiliate him”.

While we are each of us at times conflicted, even walking contradictions throughout our lives, the real problem with Hubbard’s own conflicts as well covered in this book is what they did to destroy the lives of so very many people over decades and indeed to this day some 27 years after Hubbard’s death.

Some of the very worst parts of Hubbard became the very fabric of Scientology and organized Scientology. Woven throughout the policies and practices of organized Scientology one can see Hubbard’s own paranoia and cruelty. Such things as the heartless internment camps known as “the Rehabilitation Project Force”, heavy ethics for counter and other intentions (to his own), the cruelty of disconnection and so much more was all to protect a technology Hubbard called priceless but was rather valueless to most who tried it.

As covered in the book, Hubbard’s conflicts are also reflected in his writings where he saw enemies everywhere and demanded the destruction of all who opposed his will.

His incessant demands for money combined with his disdain of those who thought differently than he destroyed perhaps thousands of families, even lives. And, like Hubbard before him, David Miscavige to this day continues to profit on the anguish of others while cowardly hiding behind organized Scientology’s myriad corporate veils so as not to be held liable for that of which he is completely liable.

As shown in this book, the stories of widespread abuse of children, beatings, forced incarcerations, financial scandals, greed, medical abuse and the like rampant within organized Scientology both through the times of Hubbard and continuing to this very day are as painful to see as they are numerous. The cruelty meted out on others in the name of “salvaging the planet” while profiting Hubbard and Miscavige is breathtaking in its scope.

One horrid example that has me in tears just to read it can be found page 157 of the book. It is about an abused, pregnant mother sneaking out of the scientology’s “Rehabilitation Project Force” without approval to see how her daughter was doing in the Scientology “Child Care Org”:

“Taylor managed to slip away to visit her ten-month-old daughter in the Child Care Org across the street. To her horror, she discovered that Venessa had contracted whopping cough, which is highly contagious and occasionally fatal. The baby’s eyes were welded shut with mucus, and her diaper was wet – in fact her whole crib was soaking. She was covered with fruit flies. Taylor recoiled. The prospect of losing both her unborn baby and her daughter seemed very likely”.

My God!!!!

So many misled people of good heart were and are a part of Scientology who themselves put it all on the line to dedicate themselves and their lives to the following of a man who would ultimately betray them. This book makes me feel a sadness for all the good souls who cared and who tried to follow a dream and were betrayed.

I love how insightful the author is when he analyzes the facts before him and tries to make it make sense. For example, as the book points out, Hubbard wrote a great deal of science fiction before he ever wrote anything about Scientology. And there are strong elements of science fiction in the hidden levels of Scientology. Reflecting on both, the author makes a simple yet in my opinion insightful statement on page 32 of the book:

“Certainly, the same mind that roamed so freely through imaginary universes might be inclined to look at the everyday world and suspect that there was something more behind the surface reality. The broad canvas of science fiction allowed Hubbard to think in large-scale terms about the human condition. He was bold. He was fanciful. He could easily invent an elaborate, plausible universe. But it is one thing to make that universe believable, and another to believe it. That is the difference between art and religion”.

I agree with the author that while one can argue that Scientology is a religion it must not be allowed to carry out such horrid abuses on countless others while hiding from prosecution behind the cloak of religion.

More than whether or not Scientology is indeed a religion I think the really important question is whether or not it is charitable or even spiritual. I see nothing spiritual at all about Hubbard’s and Miscavige’s abuse of others, the incessant demands for money and just hundreds and hundreds of things that make up the very fabric of organized Scientology and the policies it follows.

Perhaps even more importantly, as is clear in reading the book, there is nothing inherently charitable about Scientology. People have to either pay vast sums or give up their personal freedoms to “progress” in Scientology. Their benign-sounding front groups in the field of business, education, drug abuse and the like are not there to freely help the downtrodden or otherwise needy. They are there solely to themselves be a conduit of money and people into Scientology. They are “PR” to try to make organized Scientology look good to the public while in many cases are themselves a danger to the public.

In the book examples are given where others speak of Hubbard’s “research” and his “technology” that has helped them. And I am glad they were helped.

But Hubbard’s research has no scientific validity and in my opinion is often the product of a deranged mind thinking that somehow he has made these brilliant scientific discoveries when he has not.

An example from the book is Hubbard’s “research” resulting in “The Introspection Rundown” which, Hubbard says eliminates the last need for psychiatry. “Evidence” of its value is a story of a man who was crazed on a ship and a danger to others. Hubbard had him confined and treated gently and given healthy supplements. The man came out of it. I am so glad this happened to this man but my God that is hardly scientific study showing Hubbard’s procedure eliminates the last need of psychiatry.

Related to this, the book debunks Hubbard’s claims about psychology and medication in effect showing how Scientology not only may not help a person but it will often keep a person away from the very sources that can indeed help him.

Examples of this are given in the book including the death of a beautiful boy Kyle Brennan who died from an apparent suicide at Scientology’s “mecca” in Florida after his medically prescribed medication was taken away from him due to Scientology’s unfounded beliefs from Hubbard’s writings.

And, carrying on from what Hubbard preached, the book tells of a speech given by Scientology’s current abusive leader David Miscavige saying that he intends to obliterate psychiatry, wiping it from the face of the earth.

Review #4

Audio Going Clear narrated by Morton Sellers

I did not really know that much about Scientology although like many (I presume) I was aware of the celebrities associated with Scientology. I also had a vague understanding of the use of the e-meter as well as that a science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard, had created Scientology whole-cloth from his experiences and thoughts. Beyond that, it just seemed another of many fringe religions in the US. This book is an eye opener.

I first heard about it on an NPR Fresh Air interview with Lawrence Wright and became intrigued. Researching Wright, I saw that he is a reporter for the New Yorker and had won a Pulitzer Prize for his previous book, The Looming Tower, which documents the failures of America’s security system prior to the 9/11 attack. So Wright seemed a credible source to me.

The book is a very good read and draws you in right away. Many of the reviews I have read say that Hollywood writer/director Paul Haggis (Crash) is one of the main protagonists in the story and he is clearly an important vehicle. But I thought the book was much more centered on Hubbard, David Miscavige who is the current head of the church and, of course, Tom Cruise. I found the sections on Hubbard especially compelling and, at times, jaw dropping. In essence, Wright makes the case that Hubbard was largely a fraud who exaggerated or completely fabricated his exploits while in the navy and thereafter. The episodes in Hubbard’s life when he took to sailing around the world after having created Scientology are especially interesting and highly detailed. I think this passage from early in the book sums up Wright’s view on Hubbard very eloquently:

“…He was beginning to invent himself as a charismatic leader… He had an incorrigible ability to float above the evidence and to extract from his experiences lessons that others would say were irrational and even bizarre. Habitually, and perhaps unconsciously, Hubbard would fill this gap – between reality and his interpretation of it – with mythology. This was the source of what some call his genius and others call his insanity.”

The story of arranged dates and girlfriends for Cruise that appeared in a recent Vanity Fair article is recounted here. John Travolta, the other very well known celebrity Scientologist makes only a few brief appearances although he does not come off well either. I was surprised to learn of Greta Van Susteren’s deep commitment to Scientology.

The book takes an even darker turn when it gets to documenting the rise and continued reign of Miscavige, who succeeded Hubbard and continues to run Scientology. There are allegations of frequent beatings and temper tantrums directed towards underlings, punitive actions taken against wayward church members that border on torture, and the lavish use of church resources for personal comforts and to lure and retain high-profile celebrities such as Cruise. Particularly heartbreaking is the story of one church member, deeply in love with a man who had left the church and whose relationship was severed by the church as a result. She attempts to return to him after years of separation but is intercepted at the last minute at the airport as she was about to board a plane to reunite with him. Inexplicably, she agrees to return to the church and never sees her love again as a result.

Wright does not resort to breathless prose to tell this sordid story but instead relates this and other equally dramatic incidents in a rather even-handed often low-key way. At the end of each chapter, there are a series of disclaimers that I assume were put there for legal protections. Typical ones read: “Through his lawyer, Tom Cruise denies ever having made this statement”; or “Miscavige denies that this incident ever occurred or that he has ever physically assaulted any of his staff.” Stacking all these disclaimers together, the church pretty much denies everything unflattering or defamatory in the book.

Through their public relations department, Scientology has already begun a counter-attack (as is their custom and as is documented by Wright in yet other disturbing sections of the book). A recently posted letter to the Washington Post by a current member of Scientology states there are over 200 factual errors in the book (such as the date of Tom Cruise’s wedding) and that the book repeats long discredited stories as well as relies on the statements of individuals who were kicked out of the church and are now bitter. Wright has countered in his public interviews that the church was afforded every opportunity to have input and to respond to the allegations but provided incomplete or evasive responses. Readers of the book will have to decide where the truth lies. But, as indicated by my five star rating, I highly recommend the book as a worthwhile and fascinating read whether you end up agreeing or disagreeing with the account.

At the end of it, one wonders why someone would join or at the very least remain in an institution characterized by the practices and personalities portrayed in this book. I think Wright answers this puzzling question early on in the introduction, again with eloquence and insight:

“Few Scientologists have had a conversion experience – a sudden, radical reorientation of one’s life; more common is a gradual, wholehearted acceptance of propositions that might have been regarded as unacceptable or absurd at the outset, as well as the incremental surrender of will on the part of people who have been promised enhanced power and authority. One can see by this example the motor that propels all great social movements, for good or ill.”

One final note: I was particularly bothered that the church has been able to use its vast financial resources to leverage the justice system by bombarding critics (and the IRS) with lawsuits in order to silence them and/or, in the case of the IRS, to attain tax-exempt status. I think that it is beyond time we reconsider this rather large loophole in the justice system whereby those with extensive resources can use the system to bully those of lower means. With the focus of much of the discussion of the book on the more shocking aspects of Scientology, its founder, and its acolytes, I believe this point gets overlooked.

Review #5

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This book offers a diverse collection of stories, each presenting different perspectives. It is important to note that the book does not provide an unbiased view, but it is unlikely that readers would anticipate such neutrality from a work of this nature.

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