August 30, 1989
Dear Margery,
Here is a brief statement of some of my personal experiences with Scientology. I was involved with Scientology for close to 20 years part of this time was spent as a staff member. I can honestly say that being a staff member was the worst experience of my life - long hours, low pay, severe punishment for minor infractions such as being thrown into the lake at St. Hill, England, for auditing errors. I finally resigned in 1983 after finding out about Ron Hubbard mainly from former members who were close to him and now were telling the real story. My experiences, in comparison, were nothing compared to some of the horror stories I heard. The most recent incident (which I think was the most traumatic) occurred in 1984/5. A friend of mine (who was also the mother-in-law of David Miscavage who is now one of the top people in the organization) called me in great distress. I believe her words were "They are trying to kill me - Can you come right away - I feel like I am dying." When I arrived she was in bed and could scarcely move her eyes because of the pain in her head. I tried unsuccessfully to get her to a doctor - when I mentioned the word [Here some of the text is missing.] The secret part of Scientology - the so-called upper levels - tell people that their whole body is infested with countless numbers of spirits that cause every ache and pain. Every mental picture that you have is really one of these other entities' pictures - not yours. They tell you that you are clear (from Dianetics) and you no longer have mental pictures. She totally believed that her body would get well if the BTs would go away. The pain was actually caused by an aneurysm (abnormal dilation of an artery in her head) and it was not until she collapsed 5-6 months later that this condition was discovered. She had surgery - which was "fairly successful", I suppose - she had some memory problems. Because of her inability to work, her lessened mental awareness, and because her two daughters still in Scientology had virtually abandoned her, she became very depressed. I was not much help, I myself have suffered high anxiety, nightmares and phobias as a result of being in Scientology. The bad far outweighed the good, in my opinion.
I know of at least 500 ex-members who have a law suit (class action) against Scientology in Los Angeles.
Margery, you are not a lone disaffected member. There are thousands. Most of them are probably afraid - thank God for people like you.
You have my support absolutely.
Perhaps your courage will inspire others to speak out and let the public know what a destructive organization Scientology really is.
I am telling everyone I know what your predicament is so hopefully they will be courageous enough to write of their experiences, too.