All Episodes

August 20, 2025 71 mins

Pamela Nickel Williams - Scientology: When Lies Are True

DIVORCED: Scientology

TW: Incest 

Pamela Nickel Williams was born into Scientology. Her parents were early Scientologists who worked closely with L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology’s founder, at the first Church of Scientology in the late 1950s. Pamela and her parents were practicing members of the church until the late 1970s. After years of burying her childhood memories, Pamela began writing and documenting her experiences, seeking to acknowledge the abuse she suffered, and to try and understand the dysfunction that existed within her family due to Scientology’s beliefs and practices.

 Her memoir, Clearly Lies Are True, is a powerful and compelling first-hand narrative account of her experiences as a child during the early inception of Scientology. As both a cult survivor, and a survivor of sexual abuse, her book chronicles her parents’ search for “Total Freedom,” her sexual abuse at the hands of her father, and her mother's psychosis, which was brought about by Scientology.

FIND PAMELA, HER SOCIALS, AND HER BOOK 

https://linktr.ee/clearlyliesaretrue *A portion of the proceeds from the sale of her book will be donated to the

Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides resources, support, and advocacy to those who leave Scientology and the Sea Org.

FIND JANICE SELBIE

Janice Selbie's Best-selling book, Divorcing Religion: A Memoir and Survival Handbook, is now available in the USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DP78TZZF and CANADA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DP78TZZFRecordings are now available for the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference 2025! Get your Resource Ticket: 

https://www.shamelesssexuality.org/

Religious Trauma Survivor Support Group is happening on Tuesdays at 5pm Pacific/8 Eastern and Thursdays at 3pm Pacific/6pm Eastern. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with others for healing and support: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/services

Need help on your journey of healing from Religious Trauma? Book a free 20-minute consultation with Janice here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/services

Follow Janice and Divorcing Religion on Social Media:

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@divorcingreligion

BlueSky: @janiceselbie.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divorcingreligion/

 Subscribe to the audio-only version of the Divorcing Religion Podcast here: 

https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

 The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician. The views expressed by guests are not necessarily held by the host.

Support the show

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Cardiac Cowboys

Cardiac Cowboys

The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.