I started waking up when I was 6 or 7 having to go to meetings all the time, missing all the tv shows and extra curricular activities. Back in the 50's we had meetings Tuesday night book study, Friday night ministry school and service meeting, door to door Saturday and Sunday talk and watchtower.
I was angry at my situation and God for putting me in that situation.
I was looking for a loop hole.
I found one big enough to drive a mac truck, camel, steam ship through
January 1, 1976. I was 24.
But it took me another 7 years to get the sleep out of my eyes and be completely awake to the bad situation that I found myself in.
I have never been to a meeting since I was 31. 1983
I have come to realize I am not or was not the sharpest tool in the shed or the quickest with reflexes.
But I find myself thorough and detail oriented.
In my defense of my time in the watchtower, It was not the information age. Information was hard to come by.
If you went to the bookstore and most were small nothing like Barnes and Nobel's today, You would find maybe 2 four foot shelves on religion and bibles.
My first book I encountered to bolster my confidence was "30 years a Watchtower Slave". by William Schnell.
Then a book by Wayne Dyer, "Erroneous Zones" Not a religious book but a book that helped me to reprogram my stinking Watchtower thinking.
I always loved reading and was suspicious how the JW's always ignored their older books.
It was like they were embarrassed by them and hiding and apologizing for them.
They were not proud of certain aspects of their history, Rutherford and Russell.
And the Awake and Watchtower did not do a good job of footnoting and referencing their articles. If they even did so at all.