Going Clear - Mille feuilles

538 pages

English language

Published Nov. 16, 2013 by Vintage Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-307-74530-9

(1 review)

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief is a 2013 non-fiction book about Scientology written by Lawrence Wright.

The book contains interviews with current and former Scientologists, the histories of founder L. Ron Hubbard and current leader David Miscavige, and analysis of the relationships of Tom Cruise and John Travolta to the organization. In an interview with The New York Times Wright said that "There are a lot of people out there who were very high up in the church and know a lot about it who have become outspoken... I'm very lucky to come along at a time when a lot of these people are ready to talk". Wright also disclosed that he had received "innumerable" letters threatening legal action from lawyers representing Scientology and celebrities who belong to it. Wright spoke to two hundred current and former Scientologists for the book.

The title of the book, …

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief is a 2013 non-fiction book about Scientology written by Lawrence Wright.

The book contains interviews with current and former Scientologists, the histories of founder L. Ron Hubbard and current leader David Miscavige, and analysis of the relationships of Tom Cruise and John Travolta to the organization. In an interview with The New York Times Wright said that "There are a lot of people out there who were very high up in the church and know a lot about it who have become outspoken... I'm very lucky to come along at a time when a lot of these people are ready to talk". Wright also disclosed that he had received "innumerable" letters threatening legal action from lawyers representing Scientology and celebrities who belong to it. Wright spoke to two hundred current and former Scientologists for the book.

The title of the book, Going Clear, is in reference to a stage of spiritual development in Scientology. In Scientology parlance, "Clear" means a state of having freed oneself from "subconscious memories of past trauma". Scientologists go through therapy sessions called "auditing" as part of the process of becoming Clear.

Wright had previously written a profile of former Scientologist Paul Haggis for The New Yorker.

(Source: Wikipédia)

1 edition

Gersande La Flèche reviewed Going Clear by Lawrence Wright

Really well written

5 stars

I finished this book exactly a month ago but I think about it often and even thought about rereading it this week, though I've got a few more nonfictionny books I'd like to squeeze in before the end of the year. I really appreciated Lawrence Wright's tone, approach, exposition. Everything about his narrative style really appealed to me. And every now and then there would be absolutely hilarious yet dry turns of phrase that made me chuckle. The subject matter is not funny at all, and in fact the book is often a bit chilling, but for me I kept turning pages not because of lurid subject matter but because the narrative style was so engaging.

Subjects

Scientology
Doctrines
Religion

Places

Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.)