Attic Alone

An Ex–Jehovah's Witness Finds the Church

When smallpox vaccinations were required before entering school, A. McGinleys father held her arm down on the table and dropped acid on the upper part of it to painfully burn a hole in her arm. It needed to be deep enough to imitate a real smallpox vaccination. Her Mom comforted her and then took her to the attic to open boxes. They looked for school clothing. She liked being in the attic alone. It was a shelter and hiding place from her family, who were Jehovahs Witnesses. Mentally, she escaped to the attic to be alone when she had to attend services at the Kingdom Hall. She lived in two worlds. One world was home, the Kingdom Hall, and service. Her other world was school, the attic, and neighbors. There were great differences between these worlds, teaching her to think for herself when great conflicts arose between the two. Growing up in a family that included abuse, alcoholism and religious cult beliefs closed many doors, such as social freedom and college. School, the attic, and neighbors helped her to open some of those doors. Attic Alone tells the story of her journey from the bondage of false beliefs to a real Christian faith.