Reclaiming My Decade Lost in Scientology

By: Sands Hall

Narrated by: Sands Hall

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

In this audiobook, Sands Hall chronicles her slow yet willing absorption into the Church of Scientology. Her time in the Church, the 1980s, includes the secretive illness and death of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and the ascension of David Miscavige. Hall compellingly reveals what drew her into the religion - what she found intriguing and useful - and how she came to confront its darker sides.

As a young woman from a literary family striving to forge her own way as an artist, Hall ricochets between the worlds of Shakespeare, avant-garde theater, and soap opera, until her brilliant elder brother, playwright Oakley Hall III, falls from a bridge and suffers permanent brain damage. In the secluded canyons of Hollywood, she finds herself increasingly drawn toward the certainty that Scientology appears to offer.

In this candid and nuanced memoir, Hall recounts her spiritual and artistic journey with a visceral affection for language, delighting in the way words can create a shared world. However, as Hall begins to grasp how purposefully Hubbard has created the unique language of Scientology - in the process isolating and indoctrinating its practitioners - she confronts how language can also be used as a tool of authoritarianism.

Hall is a captivating guide, and this audiobook explores how she has found meaning and purpose within that decade that for so long she thought of as lost; how she has faced the "flunk" represented by those years, and has embraced a way to "start" anew.

©2018 Sands Hall (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Excellent

It explains the warning signs of cults and families. It presented my experience as a former Mormon with similar characteristics.

A must for the curious.

Thought provoking.
Answer a lot of questions. A must for the spiritual and those wanting to give Scientology a chance.

excellent memoir

Author was authentic, honest, & captivating in the telling of her story. from her familial relationships to her friendships within the Church, she eloquently shares her experiences, emotions, & thoughts are she grappled with finding her own path in life. so well done.

Book about the beginning levels of Scientology

This is an interesting book about a normal person‘s experience in Scientology. I feel the author gives an honest account… the good, the bad and the ugly. The author admits that she still sees value in some of the things she learned through Scientology coursework, but is also able to acknowledge the things she didn’t agree with, including the things that ultimately led her to stop practicing Scientology.
I liked that this book discusses,
in detail, what low level classes are like and what they teach. She was a student and eventually a course instructor. She sees value in the lessons of Scientology (at least in the lower levels) but warns it is not worth the journey due to the harsh practices of upper management and the “all or nothing” stance the religion takes.
I saw some reviews saying this book wasn’t even about Scientology, but it is. Actually it’s about 70% her life in Scientology and 30% about her life before and after Scientology. I think the background, including her childhood, is important to the story, as it helps to explain what drew her to Scientology in the first place.

Quite Interesting /Interesting Subject

I found this to be very interesting. as stated above. It's very well written and narrated by the author. I knew little about Scientology. I think this is a very thorough description of it. I love English, words, spelling, etc., but it sounds like it's much more like school rather than to learn about God, our Creator.
It's sad that money is such a necessary thing. I suppose that "they" didn't care about those who are physically disabled, on disability, which would mean that there would be very little money. In fact, it would be impossible.

It seems that God and His son, Jesus, are not at the forefront of this group. Matthew 10:8 says "You received free, give free"
Jesus didn't force people to pay to learn about the Bible, which many believe is God's Holy Inspired Book. He was content to preach his Father's Word freely, to whoever wanted to learn about Him.

Anyhow, I had no idea there's so much online and in other forms about Scientology, exposing it for what it is, appeared to be to those that gave it a try.

I'm glad that the author was able to finally see what was behind the scenes.
Learning about words, is fine, but it's got nothing for the most part, about God. I couldn't imagine the amount of money "they" require. to learn. There are probably some college courses about the English language that would be do much more affordable.

This is so interesting and very informative however. Cheers to the author for such a complete description about it. Thank you.

Well written travelogue of authors emotional journey

The author narrated her book and did it exceptionally well. I did enjoy her literary style and her wrestling with many facets of her life but eventually tired of the slow progress of the story. I have read many books on Scientology and Hall’s telling comes from an unique perspective.

Una historia muy cálida

Me encantó este libro porque va más allá de ser un libro sobre Cienciología. Si bien explica de forma muy clara los abusos y horrores de este grupo coercitivo, también busca contar cómo es que alguien llega a estas sectas y se deja seducir por sus tan famosas recetas de éxito. Amé mucho la calidez de su narración. Quisiera enviar un abrazo a Sands.

Thoughtful!

Excellent exploration of the author’s experiences, touching on deep themes such as the need to find meaning in one’s life. Enjoyed the narration and sprinkling of song. Well done!

Honest and Natural

Great book. I loved the author/narrator and the insights into Scientology. A bit drawn out at the end, but the body of the story was very interesting and entertaining.

Not Quite What Was Expected

It was...interesting, in its way. I found the constant shifting between backstories and characters to be confusing at times, and the subtle self-promotions inserted throughout began to illicit some eye-rolling on my part after the third or fourth one.
Still, it was important to hear another take on the ludicrousness of Scientology, albeit more lukewarm than I felt it should have been, but Sands did challenge my objectivity several many times.