Meghan grew up a Jehovah’s Witness, following in the footsteps of multiple generations within her family. She left as a young adult when the mental anguish she experienced within the organization threatened to take her life. But that departure sent her on a roller coaster of family detachments that she still rides to this very day.
Her story will air Wednesday, April 22 on the final episode of Generation Cult:
Season 2, Episode 10: “You Don’t Have to Tell Them Anything.”
Meghan didn’t expect a good outcome when she called her mom to tell her that she wanted to leave the organization.
But the experience was still heartbreaking, she said:
“I said, ‘mom, I’m not happy, I tried to kill myself, and I’m not going to go to the meetings anymore and I don’t know if this is what I believe but I just can’t do this anymore.’ And she said ‘that’s really sad. I’m going to miss you.’
“And for six years, I didn’t have any contact with my family. I forced one visit on them. I drove down there and just showed up at their door with a friend of mine. I just missed them so much.”
She was relieved to no longer be a Jehovah’s Witness. But she continued to believe the bible-based religion’s teachings and was convinced she was going to die in Armageddon. So, she experimented with everything she had been taught not to do.
She smoked cigarettes, tried a few drugs and worked on a pot farm. And she had a lot of sex.
Eventually, she began to work in the sex industry as an escort.
“It was during that time in my life where nothing really mattered,” she said. “I didn’t have family, I didn’t have anyone looking for me, I didn’t have anyone caring whether or not I existed. I didn’t have any ties in the world. The only people that knew I existed and cared what I was doing in the world was Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I didn’t matter to them anymore.”
Hear Meghan’s story next week on Generation Cult’s Season 2 finale and the conclusion of this limited podcast series. Download the episode April 22 on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and wherever else you find podcasts.
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