''Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief'' is a 2013
non-fiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...
book about
Scientology written by
Lawrence Wright.
The book contains interviews with current and former Scientologists, the histories of founder
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...
and current leader
David Miscavige, and analysis of the relationships of
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...
and
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...
to the organization. In an interview with ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' Wright said that "There are a lot of people out there who were very high up in the church and know a lot about it who have become outspoken... I'm very lucky to come along at a time when a lot of these people are ready to talk".
Wright also disclosed that he had received "innumerable" letters threatening legal action from lawyers representing Scientology and celebrities who belong to it.
Wright spoke to two hundred current and former Scientologists for the book.
The title of the book, ''Going Clear'', is in reference to a stage of spiritual development in Scientology. In
Scientology parlance, "
Clear" means a state of having freed oneself from "subconscious memories of past trauma". Scientologists go through therapy sessions called "auditing" as part of the process of becoming Clear.
Wright had previously written a profile of former Scientologist
Paul Haggis for ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''.
Reception
![Lawrence Wright signing Going Clear](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Lawrence_Wright_signing_Going_Clear.jpg)
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' published
Michael Kinsley's review of the book, where he wrote: "That crunching sound you hear is Lawrence Wright bending over backward to be fair to Scientology. Every deceptive comparison with ... other religions is given a respectful hearing. Every ludicrous bit of church dogma is served up deadpan. This makes the book's indictment that much more powerful."
Clark Collis reviewed the book for ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', writing:
Karen Swartz reviewed the book for ''
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions'', writing that Wright achieves his goal for the book, providing “a rich history that engages current questions,” while allowing for a “more nuanced discourse” of the meaning of religion, while perpetuating a “heavily Protestant understanding.” She also commented that the author recognized the lack of information provided by the Church of Scientology and encouraged readers to research further.
Joshi Herrmann of the
Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
wrote, "the revelations in ''Going Clear'' depict a frightening organisation, capable of imprisoning people often without keeping them imprisoned."
Transworld Publishers
Transworld Publishers Ltd. is a British publishing house in Ealing, London that is a division of Penguin Random House, one of the world's largest mass media groups. It was established in 1950 as the British division of American company Bantam ...
, who were to publish the book in the United Kingdom on the same day other publishers around the world released the book, cancelled at the last moment. The book was published in the UK three years later by Silvertail Books, the same publisher for
John Sweeney's book ''The Church of Fear: Inside the Weird World of Scientology''. Sweeney speculated that the reason Transworld backed out of their contract for Wright's book was the litigious nature of the Church of Scientology combined with the strong libel laws in England. According to Sweeney, "You don't need capital to publish a book on Scientology – you need courage."
The Church of Scientology denied the contents of the book, putting out an official statement and publishing a website.
Wright's German publisher,
Random House Publishing Group
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, provided the web addresses of the Church of Scientology's published responses in a disclaimer in the front of the German edition, and a disclaimer that none of the stories contained in the book concern the German branch of the church.
Awards and honors
The book was a finalist for the
National Book Award for Nonfiction,
and was shortlisted for the 2013
National Book Critics Circle Award. It won the nonfiction Carr P. Collins prize of the
Texas Institute of Letters.
Film adaptation
The book was adapted into a documentary film by
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
, directed by
Alex Gibney
Philip Alexander Gibney (; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, ''Esquire'' magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time".
Gibney's works as director include '' ...
, and premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
on January 25, 2015. It had been stated by HBO documentary films chief Sheila Nevins that HBO had 160 lawyers review the film out of concerns about litigation by the Church of Scientology. This was later called hyperbole by Gibney, though the film was scrutinized by HBO's lawyers.
References
External links
Book text for free online borrowingat
Open Library
* Film adaption:
{{Scientology
2013 non-fiction books
2013 in religion
Non-fiction books adapted into films
Books critical of Scientology
Books about Scientology
Alfred A. Knopf books
fr:Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief (livre)