Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology / Leah Remini / 228 pgs

This is my second autobiography by an actress in the last couple of weeks. I can't quite compare the two because Carrie Fisher's newest and last book The Princess Diarist was short and only focused on her time making Star Wars and afterwards, mainly focused on the new revelation of her affair with Harrison Ford.

However, I think Troublemaker was so much better. I've been meaning to read this book for a while, but it was her new docuseries, Scientology and the Aftermath that made me actively put a hold on the book and I finally got a chance to read it. I finished it over the course of this weekend. First, I must admit that I listened to the audio book while at home doing cross stitch. Ms. Remini narrates her book and does a wonderfully hilarious job with it. She's a girl from Brooklyn, and so Brooklyn salty language abounds, but I got over it pretty quickly. Ms. Remini goes over her childhood, her family, her introduction to Scientology, her time in the Sea Org, her trials in trying to get cast in 80s and 90s sitcoms, her fame, and her years slowly coming to the realization that Scientology was not all she thought it was. If you are a Scientologist, you will not care for what she has to say about her former religion. However, I loved listening to every minute of it and find that I admire Ms. Remini more and more. She begins the book with acknowledging all of her flaws. I admire her for that as well.

If you're interested in learning more about Scientology. If you like funny ladies. If you want to learn about how crazy Tom Cruise really is. If you want to read an honest account of a flawed human being (and we are all flawed human beings), then get this book and read it, or better yet, listen to it. Highly Recommended!

Beyond Belief:my secret life inside Scientology and my harrowing escape/Jenna Miscavige Hill/404 pgs.

The subtitle of the book says it all! Jenna Miscavige Hill is the niece of David Miscavige, the current leader of the Church of Scientology. He took over the leadership of the church after founder L. Ron Hubbard's passing. Having been indoctrinated into the Church of Scientology at a very young age, Jenna grew up knowing nothing but life in the Church. Her story, and ultimate rejection of Scientology, gives an insight into a Church that does its best to keep its operating ideology from the rest of the world--and even its own members. This was a highly informative look inside an organization about which I knew very little.