Ginny Hussong: Disfellowshipped at 21: A Lifetime of Loss and Recovery

I will tell a very brief summary of my story below. I am 59 years old, and I was born and raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. I was disfellowshipped when I was 21. Since then, my relationship with my large family has been irretrievably broken, as they were not allowed to speak to me. I struggled greatly to support myself after being expelled from my family in all ways—financially, emotionally, and spiritually. It took years to adapt to the world that I had been kept apart from. I eventually married and had two children, who have no relationship with their huge extended family on my side. I have struggled for years with feelings of shame, loneliness, lack of belonging, and confusion about spirituality. Shunning has affected all aspects of who I am today. I am very glad to be free of the Jehovah’s Witness cult; however, shunning is an extremely damaging practice and should not be something any religion inflicts on a person. Please feel free to contact me for more details on my story.