“I started investigating Scientology itself and looking at [founder] L. Rob Hubbard. Up to that time, I had thought of Hubbard as more or less like a god. … I tolerated all those things in the Sea Org because I felt I was doing the best I could to help others.” — Ron Miscavige, Scientology survivor, in his book, Ruthless

When I was a senior in high school, my grandfather died. Some well-meaning friends told me that, with time, I wouldn’t be so sad about it. In college, when my first boyfriend broke up with me, I felt like my heart really was breaking because of the grief, but my well-meaning friends told me that, with time, I’d be whole again. Several years ago, I experienced some difficult situations at a church, and again, well-meaning friends told me that, with time, I’d feel better about it.

"Sometimes the people who help us most are the ones who have already learned how to survive where we’re just beginning."