Hello newbie, I too have been checking out the posts lately and I just wanted to say thank you for your post because it inspired me to come out as well. In short my mother became a JW when I was four years old and for many years I attended meeting and participated in field service etc. etc. When I was about 15 my parents separated and I chose to stay with my Father ( a non believer) and the rest is history. I am now 35 years old and for the first time I am taking a look at how much growing up a JW has effected my life. I have been surpressing the anger and resentment for years, mainly because I did not have anyone that I could talk to about it that would not either be ignorant to the religion and just plain bias or could even begin to understand how messed up I was about this. I haven been to different churches and like you I was very afraid at first to even step foot in a church but as time went on I began to believe like many of you that there is not anything wrong with exploring the truth; after all is that not what JW preach every day. To date I have not found a church home ( I have issues with the church too) but I do maintain my relationship with GOD and I do maintain my spirituality and consider myself a Christian. My relationship with my mother is strained and somewhat distant because she is a 100% Witness and finds little time to do anything other than witness and attend meetings. I love my mother but trying to get her to even consider the possiblity that JW are not the only true religion is hopeless. I am very very excited to find this site and so many people who can truly understand what I have been going through all these years.
Thank you all
Squarebzz