Just for Naomi...
It was just before pomegranate was 10 that his mom and dad began studying with JW's. My folks and older brother ended up getting baptized. We became JW's. I think the younger a person is sucked in to these people, the deeper and more serious the "indoctrination." As it goes for probably everyone, on the surface it seemed the truth, my folks were doing it, so it must be OK. I followed along.
Things were OK I guess for a couple of years, being now 11 or 12. But things began to change. It seemed even with this "true" religion, it wasn't strong enough to hold my parents together. They seperated and headed for divorce.
One morning on a school day, my older brother wakes me up in a panic. I looked quickly at my clock and noticed that it was an hour or so later than when my mom would wake me up for school. I knew something was weird...my brother grabbed me and we ran upstairs.
My mother was lying slumped across her bed, and on her nightstand was some pill bottles, empty. We tried to wake her up, but it didn't help. Of course my dad wasn't around as he was working. So me and my older brother start to pull her out of bed to get her walking and moving around. I'm young at this point, a very small boy in comparison to most, not too strong, and here I am trying to hold my mother up with my brother on the other side walking (more like dragging her around the room) to bring her to. It wasn't working to good. Meanwhile, my younger brother (9 years old) was calling the ambulance.
The ambulance arrived, and my mom was whisked away to the hospital. She was in there for quite a while with things looking pretty bad. But, she did eventually come around and was released. That whole situation in the beginning of pomegranate's life made him begin to look at his world very different. He was deeply indoctrinated to the JW's, but he sensed something just wasn't right. The deep indoctrination was there (this is the only way), but something in pomegranate's heart broke when that struggle with my mom happened, and the family continued on it's way to complete break down...
You know, I have never written or talked about my background before. Just reviewing the above, it seems like it's going to be long if I keep writting it. Sheesh, I haven't even left event one yet...
I'll let it sit at this for now, because I don't want to impose or bore on folks...I don't know, I just have never done this. I almost feel like I'm doing something wrong or maybe not wrong but weak for relating it...Quite odd really.