Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini

Author: Leah Remini, Rebecca Paley
Publisher: Ballantine Books 
Date of publication: November 2015

Leah Remini has never been the type to hold her tongue. That willingness to speak her mind, stand her ground, and rattle the occasional cage has enabled this tough-talking girl from Brooklyn to forge an enduring and successful career in Hollywood. But being a troublemaker has come at a cost.
 
That was never more evident than in 2013, when Remini loudly and publicly broke with the Church of Scientology. Now, in this frank, funny, poignant memoir, the former King of Queens star opens up about that experience for the first time, revealing the in-depth details of her painful split with the church and its controversial practices.
 
Bold, brash, and bravely confessional, Troublemaker chronicles Leah Remini’s remarkable journey toward emotional and spiritual freedom, both for herself and for her family. This is a memoir designed to reveal the hard-won truths of a life lived honestly—from an author unafraid of the consequences.

I know I always say that I am not a fan of autobiographies or biographies in general.  I am really beginning to realize that the statement isn't very accurate.  I should say that I like to read them when they are about an interesting person or include an interesting portion of someone's life.  I'll admit that the subject of Scientology has always fascinated me, so reading Ms. Remini's book was a no-brainer.

I really enjoyed reading about Leah's life.  I felt that her book came across as very honest.  She opened the book with a laundry list of all of the scandalous things in hers and her family's life.  She clears the air so that no one in the church can't try to discredit her claims by making her look bad.  Smart move!  As I listened to her talk about her early life, her family and her fame, I found myself gaining a lot of respect for this woman. She just came across as very real to me.  I loved her anecdotes about being a mother.  Her birth story is hilarious and just so true..  I found myself agreeing with a lot of how she felt about her role as a mom.  Leah, I couldn't agree more!

I'm not going to discuss all of the "juicy" parts about Tom Cruise or the Church in this review. You'll have to read for yourself to get the details.  All I will say is that it is one messed up belief system. While there are some good things that Ms. Remini walked away with, there was a lot of messed up stuff that she is still working through.  As she says, the one thing Scientology does is help you to be a good Scientologist, but a lot of it doesn't work in the real world.

 I was a fan of The King of Queens, but now I love the show even more.  I highly recommend this book. The audio is even better because Ms. Remini reads it herself.  Make sure to check it out!