Inside/Outside: One Woman's Recovery from Abuse and a Religious Cult by Jenny Hayworth

Inside Outside is a compelling story written candidly by a brave woman about the short and long term impact of sexual abuse and living within a religious cult on the lives of her family and herself.

Fortunately, to the best of my knowledge, no one in my family has been the subject of physical, sexual or mental abuse. Yes, I was aware of sexual predators and domestic abuse but not personally affected by it and I thank Jenny to opening my eyes to other aspects.

Like many people, the only thing I really knew of Jehovah’s Witnesses was their unwelcome knocking at the door at the most inconvenient times. So I also had no knowledge of the inside workings of a fundamentalist religion.

The author openly writes about her extreme depression, self-harming and difficulty she had with what most people would consider normal social interaction difficulties and that of being cut off from loved family members because she questioned the beliefs of her religion.

Inside Outside refers to her inside self and the outside world in which she must survive. Her inside self with an ‘inside’ mum and dad was a perfect world of love and kindness and it took her many years of therapy to finally let go of that inside world and learn to express emotions.

We all need more understanding of the world we live in and the people we meet. We need to learn not to judge and to be more compassionate and this is one of the many lessons in Inside Outside.

This book gave me an insight into a world I was totally unfamiliar with. I hope to always remember the lessons learned in reading Jenny Hayworth’s book.

My rating 5*