Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman's Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult

Brenda Lee
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2006)
ISBN 9781931741651
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (12/06)

Brenda Lee shares the story of her experience of being raised in a religious cult.  Her mother got sucked into the Jehovah Witness religion when Brenda was a young child.  Her life was never the same after the whole family was indoctrinated into this belief system that takes complete control of your life.  Brenda lost her childhood during this time.  She was also forced to give up relationships with friends and family that were not involved with this cult.  She felt very alone.

Brenda Lee wrote this story to show how she escaped from this group and the repercussions that it has had on her life.  In reading her experiences, you also learn about how on her journey for acceptance from others, she discovers self-acceptance and discovered that she had an incredible amount of inner strength.  She hopes that as we read her story, we will have our own, “fears, strengths and dreams revealed.”  Brenda learned very early on that she had no control over her outer world, but she did have control over her inner world.  She hung on to her hopes and dreams to survive the rough times.  She tells us that by making the right choices we can find inner strength along our path.  If we just give up and accept things are they are, then we choose to be victims.

“Out of the Cocoon” really made me empathetic for the plight of Brenda Lee.  As a child, she wanted what every other child wants, to be happy, accepted and know that she is loved.  She didn’t have this.  When she finally made her escape, she wasn’t prepared with finding healthy relationships.  Her upbringing did not teach her these skills.  They just taught how to reject others that didn’t share your beliefs.  She got involved in some unhealthy relationships and as an end result had to learn to raise her son on her own.  Her struggle for happiness and success continued on, but in different ways. 

It was also interested for me to learn more about the Jehovah Witness belief system.  I feel sorry for the people that get sucked into it.  It definitely does not seem to encourage people to follow the path that Christ took.  I don’t believe that his teachings ever encouraged people to reject family and friends that did not share their beliefs.  If anything my Christian faith has taught me to try to lead other by example as best that I can.

I really appreciate that Ms. Lee was willing to share her story.  “Out of the Cocoon” has influenced my life in several ways.  Ms. Lee’s writings have made me reflect upon my own life and have taught me to respect the depth of inner strength that I have for issues that I have had to overcome.  She also has made me more aware of what children might be going through that are sucked into abusive cults by their parents.  It isn’t the child’s fault and they definitely will need resources to help survive this time.  As an educator, I hope that I can be one of these resources.

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