By Melissa Antionette Garza
When I first heard that Leah Remini was writing a book about leaving Scientology, I assumed it was going to be a book ranting and raving about the religion. I was sold. My appeal for soap operas and the drama involving one taking down a religion with words, made certain that the book would be mine.
Then Kirstie Alley tweeted she was upset about Miss Remini painting all Scientologists with the same brush and my thoughts were, “It’s on!”
I began reading it the day it came out. I had preordered it, charged my kindle and waited. The first part of the book was about how she grew up. Her father was abrasive to say the least. His words cut hard and left Leah with a level of tension that I am all too familiar with. That hooked me, but not for the reasons I thought it would. Leah was so human. She wasn’t this angry, resentful, aggressive woman I thought she was going to be.
Though I loved her work when the fallout with Scientology occurred, I almost envisioned her as a caricature, like one of those cartoons that have the bright red faces when mad. As she shared her experiences in such an unmanufactured and open way, it was clear she was being brutally honest about herself, the way she interpreted everything and everyone around her and how she felt from the experiences she went through, both good and bad. Her strength shined through in every way.
We learn that Leah was introduced to Scientology via her mom’s boyfriend. She and her sister were really young and when they joined. As they worked within the organization, the living conditions are described as horrific and the food offered to them was downright inedible.
As Leah slowly develops her acting career and begins getting gigs, she also begins using the tools that she learned in her faith to assist her. In the beginning it was helpful. In her personal life she felt a purpose of saving the world and in her professional life she was becoming a better speaker with more confidence.
Slowly, the negatives began to outweigh the positives. Her entire life became Scientology and as she grew more famous not only did the church have its hand in her pockets but also control over the way she acted. If she did something or asked something they disliked, she was brought in, railroaded and forced into more courses that cost an abundance of money.
Even as things became bad, Leah stayed in the church. She wanted to believe that it was the officials that were ruining the faith and that the actual belief system was correct. When she started to doubt many of the actual beliefs within the religion, it reminded me of when Daniel Ellsberg said, “We weren’t on the wrong side. We are the wrong side.” It was a really powerful realization. She didn’t abandon what worked for her but merely stepped away from the parts that tore her down as an individual.
After everything is said and done, we are still left with one mystery. Where is Shelly Miscavige? David Miscavige is the head of Scientology but his wife has been missing for years and no one but Leah seems to care. For all we know, she could have been murdered by some nut-ball in the church and David is covering up. Hopefully, that’s not the case but until we see some recent footage about her, I wonder and am concerned about her whereabouts.
I know a lot of reviewers are focusing on the parts of the book dealing with Tom Cruise, but in all honesty, I didn’t find any of that shocking. Tom Cruise always came across as the biggest jerk. It didn’t start with the Matt Lauer interview or his Oprah couch craze. It was way before that. I remember being a kid and watching this guy in interviews and saying to myself, “He sucks. He thinks he’s a God.” Without mentioning names, I’m also friends with people who have worked with him. Repeatedly I hear the same stories. Any insult or modification he wanted, he would not come out and say. He would have someone else criticize them in horrible ways on his behalf. He’s just a jerk so everything I read about him I was like, “yep..sounds about right.” He’s still just the kid who stole the cookie out of the cookie jar, will look at you while he eats it and then will point to someone else in the room as the culprit, and because of who he is, we’re supposed to pretend to believe him. Screw him. He sucked in Top Gun and he sucks now.
In the end, Troublemaker is really about the lengths that a strong woman will go to take responsibility for her actions, admit when she’s wrong, protect her family and do whatever it takes to help her friends. Leah Remini has always been one of the most likable actresses on TV, this book only solidifies that.
