Some random thoughts after reading Troublemaker…
First, what I found surprising was how well written the first one-third or so is. That part was an absolute delight to read. It had flow. It had style. I think it would appeal to everyone, even if they did not know anything about Scientology or have any interest in it or in Leah. It’s that good.
It got uneven beginning with her befriending Tom Cruise, and her struggle to kind of express what was going on in her mind with that -- her first rationalization that Cruise and Miscavige were destroying Scientology.
At the end she gets eloquent and on target about the problems with Scientology, probably helped by the books she’s read. That was a relief, because before I read the book, I thought she might be hoping it can be reformed, if only Tom and Dave were out of the picture.
Overall, the depth of Leah’s introspection completely surprised me. I thought of her as an extroverted person, and had no idea she had all that going on. She’s quite the deep thinker.
One thing she did, I think better than in any that I’ve read, is explain what Scientology is as a process, how it helped her, giving specific examples, and how it is appealing. As a never-in, she gave me a lot of new insight into why someone would be attracted to it. It was very personal and refreshingly candid.
I marveled at the way Leah dealt with the Shelly Miscavige issue. I admire her a lot for that, her boldness and persistence. Maybe Miscavige actually told a partial truth in that he doesn’t want Shelly to testify in court about his behavior or character. But that’s not why he disappeared her.
Leah has true ability to relate what she was thinking and feeling, what was said, her emotions, vulnerability, confusion, and fear. Even when it was kind of venial or lame, like her condemnation of a Sea Org worker who was drinking at Tom Cruise’s wedding, well, that’s what she thought at the time. She didn’t know there are drinkers in the Sea Org, like Starkey. I guess she thought that if you did something like drink or steal, you had to do it on the sly, like she stole food when she was in the Sea Org.
The way she revealed all her foibles impressed me, even ones that wouldn’t have been necessary to mention before Scientology tries to smear her with them.
One that annoyed me, but it was funny too, was her thinking that because she chose to wear heels and dress up to go see the Coliseum, she thought that because she had a TV series, they should let her ahead of other tourists waiting to go into the Coliseum. I was wondering though, why would there be a line in November, which is when the wedding was.
I saw a photo of her a few years back jogging in sneakers, so at least she wouldn’t wear heels for that. I hope by the time she’s 60, she abandons heels, no longer cares that she’s got stubby legs. I wouldn’t want her to break a hip or something.
Tommy and Jessica came off as detestable, as expected. Her experiences with them made me like them even less. It also made me think even more about what the hell was going on in Katie’s mind that she allowed them to monitor and report on her. The parts about Cruise made me curious for real details of what day-to-day life with him was like for Katie, Nicole or Penelope Cruz. Before Katie even had Scientology courses, did Tom speak in Scientologese to her or around her? In other words, how nuts is he. Or does Tom just use it around Scientologists like his servants or Leah.
I'm thinking that Leah, being brash, outspoken, and unforgettable, even if it's as a troublemaker, might help many inside the cult break down and want to read her book. As Leah mentioned, Cruise won't. Most Scientologists won't. Leah explained why very well.
