Liz Gale: How she grew up in Scientology, and then smartly traded it for being a pothead

In 2016, our old friend Mark Ebner had a suggestion for us.

More than a decade earlier, Ebner had written a terrific story for New Times Los Angeles (where we worked from 1999-2002) about the suicide of Philip Gale, a math prodigy who had grown up in Scientology and threw himself from a building at MIT on the night of L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday, March 13, 1998. (The story was later republished by Gawker, and you can see it here.)

Ebner’s suggestion to us was to interview Philip Gale’s sister Liz Gale, who had also grown up in Scientology, had left it behind, and had interesting things to say about it. We are indebted to Mark for suggesting it, because the result was a story we were particularly proud of that began to capture what a special force of nature Liz Gale is.

Liz was then invited to appear on Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath for a memorable episode of the show’s second season. And since then, Liz has continued to talk about what a unique perspective she has as a former third-generation Scientologist whose family has been through so much.

And now, she’s really outdone herself, coming out with a book with the startling title, “Confessions of an Ex-Scientologist Pothead.” (It’s available now at Amazon.)

She’s been generous enough to send us a description of the book and a short excerpt, and she has also invited us to participate this morning in a live discussion on YouTube during which she says she is going to quiz us about Scientology. That sounds dangerous! But we’re looking forward to it.

Here’s her description…

From her first breath, Liz is destined for life within the mysterious world of Scientology. Indoctrination lurks behind every corner as she shuffles between an elite boarding school, eccentric churches and a family of true believers.

When her teenage brother’s sudden death sparks a national controversy, Liz begins to ask dangerous questions about her family’s seventy-year involvement with the organization.

The true cost of freedom becomes clear when she starts a family of her own and is faced with a gut-wrenching choice. Will she sacrifice everything to protect her children?

You bet your ass she will.

 
And here’s the excerpt, from chapter 9, “Confession #9: My brother told me Scientology secrets before he died”

 
There is no guidebook to your son committing suicide. I think my mother did the best she could, considering the circumstances. I cannot blame her for what she said when she was grieving.

The internet, however, remembers forever.

Thank goodness for this electronic memory, which I stumbled upon almost a decade after it was originally posted. It was a piece of the puzzle that I never had before, and no one I knew in Scientology was going to tell me about it.

Soon after my brother died, our mother posted on a popular anti-Scientology message board. She was livid at the discussion of her son, and felt that the critic and journalists had pushed him into a breakdown.

“I know he was contacted by the Boston Herald for their article because he called me and we talked about it,” she wrote. “The interview was upsetting to him. That was the last time I talked to my son.

“In the BEST case scenario, it was upsetting to him. At worst, it could have actively contributed to his decision to take his own life. How would you feel to be 19 years old and have your school, your work experience, and your parents’ beliefs pulled apart and attacked? I have trouble ignoring the fact that his decision to end his life apparently came within a few days of the Boston Herald article[s].”

Of all of Scientology’s 1990s scandals, The Boston Herald series Scientology Unmasked: Inside Scientology was one of the most damaging. Five consecutive articles by investigative journalist Joseph Mallia ran throughout the week of March 1-6, 1998. Mallia’s articles were about different aspects of Scientology and were extremely critical in nature**. Titles included:

— Powerful Church Targets Fortunes, Souls of Recruits
— Church Keys Programs to Recruit Blacks
— Scientology Reaches into Schools through Narconon
— Church, Enemies Wage War on Internet Battlefield – Sacred Teachings Not Secret Anymore
— Scientology Group Reaches Kids Through PBS Videos

After publication, Scientology hired private investigators to look into Mallia’s life, and to uncover what “sinister motive” he had and what “vested interest” he was working for.

At the time, The Rev. Richard L. Dowhower, a Lutheran minister and an adviser on cult activity at the University of Maryland, College Park, said, “I’ve been in the cult-watching business since the early ’70s and I don’t know of any other group, other than Scientology, that targets journalists.”

Though he was not mentioned by name in the post, Mallia was the journalist that my brother had spoken to. Within a week of publication, my brother committed suicide.

I wanted to understand what had happened to my brother. Did he feel bad about what he’d shared with the reporter? Did he think he would get into trouble?

I reached out to the author, Mallia, a few years ago. I spent hours trying to track him down, finally finding him through a colleague in an old photo.

The journalist refused to speak with me. “It’s too painful,” I was relayed.

Yeah, tell me about it, buddy.

We are going live with Liz at 11 am Eastern (8 am Los Angeles, 4 pm London). Hope you can join us!

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Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:

Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history

Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea

Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time

Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology

Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain

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