A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology
Mike Rinder
Sep 2022 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Mike Rinder
5.0star
42 reviews
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14 hr 22 min
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About this audiobook
One of the highest-ranking defectors from Scientology exposes the secret inner workings of the powerful organization in this remarkable memoir that is “not only a cautionary tale but also an inspiring story of resilience” (Leah Remini, New York Times bestselling author).
Mike Rinder’s parents began taking him to their local Scientology center when he was five years old. After high school, he signed a billion-year contract and was admitted into Scientology’s elite inner circle, the Sea Organization. Brought to founder L. Ron Hubbard’s yacht and promised training in Hubbard’s most advanced techniques, Rinder was instead put to work swabbing the decks.
Still, Rinder bought into the doctrine that his personal comfort was secondary to the higher purpose of Hubbard’s world-saving mission, swiftly rising through the ranks. In the 1980s, Rinder became Scientology’s international spokesperson and the head of its powerful Office of Special Affairs. He helped negotiate Scientology’s pivotal tax exemption from the IRS and engaged with the organization’s prominent celebrity members, including Tom Cruise, Lisa Marie Presley, and John Travolta.
Yet Rinder couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that something was amiss—Hubbard’s promises remained unfulfilled at his death, and his successor, David Miscavige, was a ruthless and vindictive man who did not hesitate to confine many top Scientologists, Mike among them, to a makeshift prison known as the Hole.
In 2007, at the age of fifty-two, Rinder finally escaped Scientology. Overnight, he became one of the organization’s biggest public enemies. He was followed, hacked, spied on, and tracked. But he refused to be intimidated and today helps people break free of Scientology.
“An intensely personal, cathartic memoir of blind allegiance, betrayal, and liberation” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), A Billion Years reveals the dark, dystopian truth about Scientology as never before.
Mike Rinder’s parents began taking him to their local Scientology center when he was five years old. After high school, he signed a billion-year contract and was admitted into Scientology’s elite inner circle, the Sea Organization. Brought to founder L. Ron Hubbard’s yacht and promised training in Hubbard’s most advanced techniques, Rinder was instead put to work swabbing the decks.
Still, Rinder bought into the doctrine that his personal comfort was secondary to the higher purpose of Hubbard’s world-saving mission, swiftly rising through the ranks. In the 1980s, Rinder became Scientology’s international spokesperson and the head of its powerful Office of Special Affairs. He helped negotiate Scientology’s pivotal tax exemption from the IRS and engaged with the organization’s prominent celebrity members, including Tom Cruise, Lisa Marie Presley, and John Travolta.
Yet Rinder couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that something was amiss—Hubbard’s promises remained unfulfilled at his death, and his successor, David Miscavige, was a ruthless and vindictive man who did not hesitate to confine many top Scientologists, Mike among them, to a makeshift prison known as the Hole.
In 2007, at the age of fifty-two, Rinder finally escaped Scientology. Overnight, he became one of the organization’s biggest public enemies. He was followed, hacked, spied on, and tracked. But he refused to be intimidated and today helps people break free of Scientology.
“An intensely personal, cathartic memoir of blind allegiance, betrayal, and liberation” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), A Billion Years reveals the dark, dystopian truth about Scientology as never before.
Ratings and reviews
5.0
42 reviews
Staci “Moxicity” Tipsword
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September 28, 2023
Mike Rinder's account of his life in and after Scientology is just so heartbreaking and yet also so heartwarming as well. I really enjoyed this as an audiobook because I really enjoy his voice, and I always prefer autobiography audiobooks to be read by the author if possible. Mike's story is full of hope for the future, and I consider him writing this all out for future generations to be so important, especially regarding his work with Leah Remini on the awareness and laws regarding children being indoctrinated into these cults.
Blake Ly
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October 11, 2022
As someone who has always been fascinated with cults and the power they have over the mind, this book has given me an unprecedented look into what I already knew was a living nightmare but can only be understood fully by consuming its contents in every page. I still find it fascinating that there aren't ANY National (United States) lawsuits or cases to completely dismantle this organization regardless of the contracts the partitioners sign & I hope to live long enough to see the day when this cult is dismantled and David Miscavige is brought to justice for all the lives he's ruined and continues to. There's much more to say but for the most part, after hearing what Mike has to say, I'm left with a disturbing feeling in my gut because I didn't realize just how powerful this organization is and furthermore how many people still practice in the 21st CENTURY for goodness sake! This audiobook is a MUST or if you prefer, grab the printed copy. I personally love that Mike read it himself.
Lady Bug
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December 22, 2022
This is a Great Book !! Thank you Mike Rinder. you know it is a great book when you don't want to put it down this was one of those books
About the author
Mike Rinder was raised as a Scientologist from early childhood. He went on to serve as Scientology’s international spokesperson and as the head of its Office of Special Affairs and was a member of the Board of Directors of Church of Scientology International from its creation in 1983 until he left in 2007. Since renouncing Scientology, Rinder has become a prominent whistleblower against its abuses. He appeared in the HBO documentary Going Clear and cohosted all three seasons of the Emmy Award–winning show Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath on A&E. He and Remini currently cohost the podcast Scientology: Fair Game.
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