events, we were dressed up in cute
outfits and paraded in front of our
parents and Int (international
management headquarters) crew to
make it seem as though Scientology was
creating a normal and joyful childhood,
when in fact we were all being robbed
of it. (p. 80)
Jenna knew her Uncle Dave was very important,
but being the niece of David Miscavige did not
make her life easier. Rather, it made it more
difficult, especially as she got older and others
accused her of currying favors because of her
name. She details a complicated relationship
with her uncle and explains that she learned of
his key role in her experiences with the church
only after she had left it.
I focus here on Jenna’s bizarre childhood
because I think her unique contribution in this
memoir is the information she imparts about
children raised in Scientology. Space here does
not allow for additional details of her high-
demand life. Her rigorous training and
education punctuated by seemingly random and
terrifying restrictions and punishments
continued. She entered the Sea Org when she
was 12. She rarely saw her parents after her
mother was isolated for extreme punishment
because she had a love affair, Jenna wasn’t able
to see her for years. She rarely saw her brother,
and not at all after he left the church until she
later left as well.
She fell in love at age 15 with a boy named
Martino. She was severely punished for “flirting
and related behaviors,” and they were forced
apart. However, Jenna claims this experience
prompted her to begin to trust herself.
“Suddenly, I wasn’t afraid to call things what
they were or trust my own judgment about other
people, as well as myself,” she writes.
Previously, I’d compare my actual
feelings to whatever Scientology said I
was supposed to feel. If I felt anything
else, then surely the problem was with
me. As a result, I doubted myself
constantly… Now for the first time, I
was able to see myself for what I was…
This realization was the beginning of
personal integrity. (pp. 237–238)
Jenna finally concluded she was being punished
because her parents had left the Sea Org.
Selling time-shares in Mexico, they wanted her
to leave the church. She refused, choosing life
at Flag (Scientology’s religious retreat center in
Clearwater, Florida where she had spent time
previously). But the leaders did not allow her to
go back there.
The turning point for Jenna came when at age 16
she met Dallas Hill, who also grew up in the
movement. They became engaged when she
was 18. Marrying at a young age was common
in Scientology—Jenna says that she knew of 15-
year-olds who were married—but impediments
were put in the couple’s way. Finally, they slept
together before marriage and after Dallas
confessed were severely punished.
They were suddenly allowed to marry in
September of 2002, and then sent to Australia to
do important church work there. They
experienced life in the outside world for the first
time. They discovered websites hostile to the
Church of Scientology and damaging
information about Uncle Dave, especially his
acts of violence against top leaders. Jenna
wanted to have a baby, but Scientology forbade
it. When they returned to the states, their
conflict with the church was concretized in a
battle over whether or not to turn over their cell
phone. Jenna wanted to leave the church, but
Dallas hesitated because he knew if he did he
would never be able to see his parents again.
In a climax more suspenseful than a film script,
Jenna decided to leave the church without
Dallas. He finally relented and left also. They
began their difficult adjustment to life in the
outside world.
Now parents of two children, they have become
active in extensive media and Internet anti-
Scientology activity, networking with former top
leaders—including those who had “handled”
Jenna and Dallas—who also had left the church.
Jenna summarizes:
I made a choice that I didn’t want to be
controlled, and in walking away from
everything, I learned the value of
listening to the voice in my head telling
me what was wrong and standing up for
66 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 5, 2014
outfits and paraded in front of our
parents and Int (international
management headquarters) crew to
make it seem as though Scientology was
creating a normal and joyful childhood,
when in fact we were all being robbed
of it. (p. 80)
Jenna knew her Uncle Dave was very important,
but being the niece of David Miscavige did not
make her life easier. Rather, it made it more
difficult, especially as she got older and others
accused her of currying favors because of her
name. She details a complicated relationship
with her uncle and explains that she learned of
his key role in her experiences with the church
only after she had left it.
I focus here on Jenna’s bizarre childhood
because I think her unique contribution in this
memoir is the information she imparts about
children raised in Scientology. Space here does
not allow for additional details of her high-
demand life. Her rigorous training and
education punctuated by seemingly random and
terrifying restrictions and punishments
continued. She entered the Sea Org when she
was 12. She rarely saw her parents after her
mother was isolated for extreme punishment
because she had a love affair, Jenna wasn’t able
to see her for years. She rarely saw her brother,
and not at all after he left the church until she
later left as well.
She fell in love at age 15 with a boy named
Martino. She was severely punished for “flirting
and related behaviors,” and they were forced
apart. However, Jenna claims this experience
prompted her to begin to trust herself.
“Suddenly, I wasn’t afraid to call things what
they were or trust my own judgment about other
people, as well as myself,” she writes.
Previously, I’d compare my actual
feelings to whatever Scientology said I
was supposed to feel. If I felt anything
else, then surely the problem was with
me. As a result, I doubted myself
constantly… Now for the first time, I
was able to see myself for what I was…
This realization was the beginning of
personal integrity. (pp. 237–238)
Jenna finally concluded she was being punished
because her parents had left the Sea Org.
Selling time-shares in Mexico, they wanted her
to leave the church. She refused, choosing life
at Flag (Scientology’s religious retreat center in
Clearwater, Florida where she had spent time
previously). But the leaders did not allow her to
go back there.
The turning point for Jenna came when at age 16
she met Dallas Hill, who also grew up in the
movement. They became engaged when she
was 18. Marrying at a young age was common
in Scientology—Jenna says that she knew of 15-
year-olds who were married—but impediments
were put in the couple’s way. Finally, they slept
together before marriage and after Dallas
confessed were severely punished.
They were suddenly allowed to marry in
September of 2002, and then sent to Australia to
do important church work there. They
experienced life in the outside world for the first
time. They discovered websites hostile to the
Church of Scientology and damaging
information about Uncle Dave, especially his
acts of violence against top leaders. Jenna
wanted to have a baby, but Scientology forbade
it. When they returned to the states, their
conflict with the church was concretized in a
battle over whether or not to turn over their cell
phone. Jenna wanted to leave the church, but
Dallas hesitated because he knew if he did he
would never be able to see his parents again.
In a climax more suspenseful than a film script,
Jenna decided to leave the church without
Dallas. He finally relented and left also. They
began their difficult adjustment to life in the
outside world.
Now parents of two children, they have become
active in extensive media and Internet anti-
Scientology activity, networking with former top
leaders—including those who had “handled”
Jenna and Dallas—who also had left the church.
Jenna summarizes:
I made a choice that I didn’t want to be
controlled, and in walking away from
everything, I learned the value of
listening to the voice in my head telling
me what was wrong and standing up for
66 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 5, 2014
