TheJehovah's Witnesses have torn my family for 30 years now. I come from a family of six, four boys and two girls, I am the youngest. We didn't become dubbies until I was 13, my sister first, then all of us except for one brother. My sister was DA first, then two of my brothers. My oldest brother disfellowshipped himself after his wife left him for another man, but was reinstated after five years. My parents were were fairly strict with shunning, although it killed my mother, they occasionally had some contact, then came the Watchtower inflicted guilt, then back to shunning, lather, rinse, repeat. I saw them occasionally, but felt guilty.
I finally left, after 30 years. My sister and I went to see our mom shortly before she died. When we got home, we each got a letter saying she wanted to die with a clean conscience, so she couldn't talk to us again. Then she wondered why I didn't call. I wasn't there when she passed away.
I was glad to be able to talk to my siblings again, especially my sister, but she eventually went back after 30 years, only because she was cut off from her grandchildren. She shuns me now. I haven't talked to my oldest brother in ten years.
Now we have a whole other generation of children, most of whom do not know each other. Before the JWs, we were a happy, close family, with frequent get togethers. All that is gone. All we have is bits and pieces, no real family. I am lucky that neither of my children bought into it, my grandchildren know nothing of this horrid religion, and I am sure happy about that. The insanity is stopped on my part.
There is nothing good in a religion that inflicts this kind of damage,pain and guilt on its members. There is no good that can come of it. It's evil. I miss my sister, my brother, and my nieces and nephews.