I don't remember sharing my story...if i did, don't reply. it will only encourage me
Its been a strange 17 years (18 in october WHOO!). Mum is a witness because her life was a mess and she was dragged in when she was only 18. Then she left, got pregnant with me at 20. She was disfellowshipped somewhere around this time.
Mum and me lived alone for a long time, dad ran away to america so as not to have any responsiblity or have to contribute with money for clothes or anything. He's back over here now but we don't speak much.
We lived in a few rough places, had no money. Mum would go getting drunk a lot and leave me with family, i'd not see her sometimes for a couple of days. Once we even lived in a homeless accomodation. Finally i think she saw how bad things were and started to make a real effort! She was getting £10 a week to live off for us but managed well with it.
It was around this time she met JW's again. Our life improved a lot and they did do a lot to help us but thing is, its a cult. Things changed fast, mum was re-instated and before i knew it from 1996 to 1999 i'd been a JW for 3 years and loved it, i didn't understand it though and it seemed like a social club more than anything.
1999 mum got married to stepdad. He is an idiot. He used to hit me, push me around and stuff. I realised that Jehovah wasn't helping no matter how many times i cried or begged for him to stop it. I ended up moving out for a while to Grandparents home.
2003 went really quick, i'd left the witnesses and got on with life. 2004 came and so did guilt, depression and several times i sat there thinking...if i just slit my wrists ya know. Mum was distant from me and stepdad was still a bully. For some reason i still played around with meetings once every now and then.
Started church and life changed quick, from 2004 to 2005 i just went to church and lived at other peoples homes, i was rarely at home. I got confirmed at my church in 2005 and that really scared mum cos she saw then i REALLY wasn't coming back. She got mad the night before my confirmation and said if i did it, i would be kicked out. So what i thought and went ahead and did it.
Friends and loads of people helped me, a guy i knew gave me £200 and said if i needed a roof over my head or money, i knew where he was. LOADS of others offered m a room too. Their kindness was overwhelming.
I now live at home, in the hope i can free mum and even stepdad. I'm not too hopeful but any chance i get i take it. No one deserves to waste their whole life in that cult.