Troublemaker (234 pgs.) begins with Remini's confession of being a liar, cheater and occasional horrible person while being married to a serial cheater, who she met and fell in love with while he was still married. Whew, now that we've gotten that out of the way...
If you've ever doubted that the author, Leah Remini, was funny, even after seeing her long standing sitcom King of Queens, this read will put all doubts to rest. The pages are sprinkled with Remini's brand of laugh out loud humor, sarcasm and curse words. Yet, she also presents her full vulnerable self. The writing style and rhythm is authentic, inclusive of grammatical faux pas.
Any craving the reader may have for Scientology gossip and celebrity drama is very much satisfied in this book. Details include full names of all involved parties, dates, timestamps, police report copies, total payment amounts and pictures.
"The reason for their blind faith lies in their core belief that they alone have the answers to eradicate the ills of humanity...all those years applying [Scientology] didn't make me any less flawed, hurt, aggressive, or insecure." ~Leah Remini
Chapter Synopsis:
(Chapter Title/ROTR digest)
One/ The family's journey to Scientology, learning policy and efforts to "clear" the planet.
Two/ Spending time in the Sea Org, a special level in Scientology where the most dedicated participants are invited and held to the highest standard of the organization.
Three/ Exiting the Sea Org with a bang, or because of one.
Four/ The family moves to California with hopes of finding a new Scientology church home.
Five/ Early acting woes of booking the first job.
Six/ First time experience working on a series: Living Dolls with Halle Berry.
Seven/ Moving up the church ranks aka the Bridge.
Eight/ Falling love with a married man.
Nine/ The King of Queens journey.
Ten/ Knowledge Reports and a baby on the way.
Eleven/ Recruiting new members and losing friends, both for the church.
Twelve/ Being a celebrity Scientologist and meeting Tom Cruise.
Thirteen/ The wedding of the century.
Fourteen/ Things start going downhill.
Fifteen/ Leaving King of Queens and enduring the first season of The Talk.
Sixteen/ The divorce of the century, requesting a refund from the church (big transgression!) and a friend goes missing.
Seventeen/ Giving up a lifelong belief system is just so hard to do.
Eighteen/ Public feud with Scientology and Dancing with the Stars.
Nineteen/ Learning to think independently and being ok not knowing all the answers.
Whether or not any of the claims, accusations and/or validity of this organization are true, this book is wildly entertaining, informative and inspiring in the sense that no matter what one believes, as Remini writes, "living with a core set of beliefs that completely unravel is unsettling" to say the least.
Happy Reading my Friends,
Xoxoxoxoxo
ROTR