#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An eye-opening, no-holds-barred memoir about life in the Church of Scientology, now with a new afterword by the author—the outspoken actress and star of the A&E docuseries Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath Leah Remini has never been the type to hold her tongue. That willingness to speak her mind, stand her ground, and rattle the occasional cage has … and rattle the occasional cage has enabled this tough-talking girl from Brooklyn to forge an enduring and successful career in Hollywood. But being a troublemaker has come at a cost.
That was never more evident than in 2013, when Remini loudly and publicly broke with the Church of Scientology. Now, in this frank, funny, poignant memoir, the former King of Queens star opens up about that experience for the first time, revealing the in-depth details of her painful split with the church and its controversial practices.
Indoctrinated into the church as a child while living with her mother and sister in New York, Remini eventually moved to Los Angeles, where her dreams of becoming an actress and advancing Scientology’s causes grew increasingly intertwined. As an adult, she found the success she’d worked so hard for, and with it a prominent place in the hierarchy of celebrity Scientologists alongside people such as Tom Cruise, Scientology’s most high-profile adherent. Remini spent time directly with Cruise and was included among the guests at his 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes.
But when she began to raise questions about some of the church’s actions, she found herself a target. In the end, she was declared by the church to be a threat to their organization and therefore a “Suppressive Person,” and as a result, all of her fellow parishioners—including members of her own family—were told to disconnect from her. Forever.
Bold, brash, and bravely confessional, Troublemaker chronicles Leah Remini’s remarkable journey toward emotional and spiritual freedom, both for herself and for her family. This is a memoir designed to reveal the hard-won truths of a life lived honestly—from an author unafraid of the consequences.
Praise for Troublemaker
“An aggressively honest memoir . . . Troublemaker is the most raw and revealing Scientology memoir to date.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Leah’s story is a juicy, inside-Hollywood read, but it’s more than that. It’s a moving story about the value of questioning authority and how one woman survived a profound crisis of faith.”—People
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This book was interesting because it answered lots of questions about scientology that had not been answered in other books on the subject.
I found the Scientologist to be cruel and misguided. I did not care for the dirty language in the book.
Author provides scary insights into Scientology and shows a lot of courage for speaking up.
Reading this book makes you feel sorry for Leah, but I also keep wondering — why didn’t she leave sooner? I’m sure she thinks she answered that question, but it still staggers the mind that a woman with money and some outside contacts would stay so long. I found the writing to be tedious but kept reading hoping to figure out why she stayed so long.
Loved it
Very good read! I enjoy Leah’s sense of humor and her down to earth personality. It was, however, very disturbing to read of how manipulating Scientology truly is but I’m glad she was able to come out and truly live her life.
Great read. Leah writes in an entertaining and relatable way. Love her courage and chutzpah. I had already watched the documentary Going Clear, so the church revelations weren’t shocking but, holy geez, how is this still going on?
This book was not one that I enjoyed. I found it informative…and funny at times, gave up after 100 pages
I watched the first season of Leah’s documentary series on Scientology, and was interested to learn more. Leah tells the raw and honest story of how her family became involved in Scientology and how it defined her life for so many years, and how she finally broke away. I liked the way in which Leah told her story, as if we were sitting together.
Informative.
very good, but too many foul words
So glad this was written; this church is an evil place putting fear in people to stay…or else.
It is hard to belief that things like this happen in real life. Well told by Leah Remini!