Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini | Summary & Analysis

By . IRB Media

Inside this Instaread Summary & Analysis of Troublemaker:

• Summary of book

• Introduction to the Important People in the book

• Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jan 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781944195595

. IRB Media

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Summary

Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology is actress/celebrity Leah Remini’s memoir of her life in the Church of Scientology, her gradual disillusionment with the church, and her eventual decision to leave it permanently—all against the backdrop of building a successful acting career. Leah grows up in fairly impoverished circumstances as the child of a broken home in Brooklyn. Her father, who is chauvinistic and verbally abusive to Leah and her sister, separates from Leah’s mother, Vicki Marshall. Leah is plagued by a constant sense of inadequacy, instilled in part by her father’s put-downs, but also by her own sense of insecurity and status consciousness. She compares herself to her friends and neighboring families, whose mothers cook family meals and iron their clothes, despite their difficult circumstances. Vicki, though loving, is a rather absent-minded mother. Leah finds herself continuously searching for acceptance and validation, and struggles to be more like everyone else. When her mother brings home a new boyfriend, Dennis, their lives begin to change. Dennis, a practicing Scientologist, introduces first Vicki, and later her daughters, to the Church of Scientology in Manhattan. As children, Leah and her sister begin attending intensive, almost daily sessions in Scientology and are quickly drawn into the community.

The church community brings new structure and meaning to Leah’s life. Perhaps most importantly, it gives her a sense of personal importance. According to the