Episode Sixty Eight - Mario is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

"I should have gotten the abortion", the words of Mario's mother when he was disfellowshipped at a young age from the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. Some would equate shunning to exactly that, essentially aborting someone from your life and treating them as though they are dead. All because a person, even a mother's own son, simply chose another path. "I just want to be normal", the words of a depressed 15 year old Mario growing up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Living in a self-described "police state" in his own home, the harsh fundamentalist upbringing resulted in a life of frustration and anger where nothing was ever good enough in that environment to garner trust. Mario overcame so much to finally have a chance to find himself, and he shares his story today to help others going through similar circumstances. We talk about his time growing up JW, how he was treated in his own home growing up after the shunning started, his time spent after being pushed out and the impact it had on him, and how he has continued to work on himself to grow into someone that he can be proud of. The song that Mario chose to represent his journey is The Unforgiven by Metallica. Support the show by donating to the cause on our Patreon page, Patreon.com/shunned Are you struggling in some area of life? Feeling stuck? Need an accountability partner or some encouragement? Need to talk to someone that understands cult life? Reach out and let's talk. I have affordable programs to help as a certified life coach. Click HERE for more information. Support Mario by leaving him a comment HERE Want more resources or to participate in the Shunned Recovery Project that I mentioned? Go to my new website exjwHelp.com Join our Shunned Podcast Facebook group HERE Leave us a review on iTunes Find shunned podcast on Youtube, including new VIDcasts here. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can listen to the Shunned Podcast Spotify playlist here for all of the songs chosen by guests of the show. This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app or on YouTube. It is a 9 part series about life as Jehovah's Witnesses designed to help you understand how it worked in one comprehensive story and to help you process your own if you came from that environment. Follow my new podcast called LouisvilleOne at LouisvilleOne.org or look it up on a podcast app. You can watch the live videos on the YouTube channel HERE. Music by Fair Voyeur entitled "No Hell Yet".