True enough. I do have a very vivid memory of going to a book store with my mom as a child and seeing a cardboard display of 'Dianetics' as self help, a 'new' guide to 'enlighten', blah, blah, blah... I remember fondly and with humor how my mother walked the few steps to the counter and asked how a book that was just recently sold as science fiction could now be (erroneously) called 'self-help'? The stunned clerk just mumbled some standard line but it did catch the attention of others (and embarassed me, at the time!).
You mention you are a former member. Did you have any difficulty leaving? Did you attain one of the higher levels?
I'm curious in part bc of a highschool classmate. She hasn't been seen in 10 years, she was a member moving up and carefully 'molded' by her older alleged bf turned husband. Already thin, she kept getting thinner and thinner, and later sold many of her possessions including her portion of a local business venture (they hounded her relatives for more). It was creepy and scary, the contact we had with her dwindled and later men appeared at our mutual friends house (she had hired an investigator at her family's request) warning us to cease all contact or else.
I'm interested in anything you could tell us. Scientology is much more widespread than many people think and frankly it frightens me. I'm glad you were able to escape. As Mom always said, "know the enemy" right? I'm all ears.(purely as a research project fellow freepers I'm Methodist and plan to stay that way)