In between days
Recovery is not about putting the past out of our minds and forgetting it. As many of the above have stated, the past is a part of us. Like any abuse victim we need to deal with that part of our experience.
We need to be angry for a while, and that may or may not be in proportion to how long we were "in" but it will definitely be in proportion to how badly we were hurt - or are being still hurt by this org.
Most people find it much easier to get angry at what was done to others. We find it a lot harder to identify how we personally were hurt. But that is the crucial part of recovery. What this did to us. And the things that affect us most when we read another person's story is probably the thing that strikes closest to our own pain.
A lot of people don't read the stories (or poems) because it strikes too close to home. But I believe those stories or poems can offer us the best opportunity to look at and closely examine our own pain.
But just feeling our pain is not enough. The next question is what to do with it? Learning how the experience has affected us and continues to affect us is crucial. Without understanding it is very hard to overcome the effects.
One of the problems for many of us is that the experience is on-going especially if we still have family who are "in" and who shun us even a bit.
If you notice, our anger and our pain are closely linked. And they are often proportional to each other. We cannot deal with one without dealing with the other. And after years "in" there are probably a lot of issues to deal with.
I often use the analogy of the onion. We need to peel the onion layer by layer. Each layer is an issue. And I think the longer we were in, or more strongly we believed, the bigger the onion (or maybe it is a bushel of onions for some of us). With each layer there are tears along with the anger.
The work is long and difficult. I think that it is made more difficult because as JWs we weren't allowed to be real - to authentically feel what was going on inside of us. We are not used to thinking about our feelings or why we feel that way or think that way about things. So not only do we need to get thinking again in a real way but we need to learn that our feelings are OK. They are feelings - an expression of what is inside of us. Honoring those feelings is part of how we accept ourselves (a thing that was not allowed while a JW)
As to the issue of forgiveness. I still believe two things are required. The person who hurt us must ask for forgiveness and they must stop doing the thing that hurt us. In this case the WTS has not done that.
I have never had anyone (inside the org or not) tell me they were sorry. But that has not stopped my recovery. I can deal with my anger and pain. And I can learn from it. I can learn enough to make sure I don't fall into the same trap again. And I can let go of the hurt from the past but still using the knowledge I gain as a tool to protect me in the future.
Like any abuse victim is vulnerable to get involved in another situation of abuse after leaving the first I think we too are vulnerable. Many of us (and I think I am one of these) are too scared to get involved in anything that smacks of control by others. Knowledge is power. The more I understand the dynamics of abuse in general to less vulnerable I am to falling into its clutches again. This is why it is so important to understand all the parts of how we got involved (even for those who were born into it) and what kept us there.Then we can make sure it doesn't happen again