Take back your personal data with Incogni! Use code SHELISE at https://incogni.com/shelise and get 60% off an annual plan. As a 4th generation Jehovah’s Witness, Alissa Watson followed the path laid out before her and married young at a month past 19. Against the recommendation of the doomsday cult, she had chiIdren. During the birth of her first chiId, a pool of lost blood scared her husband into looking into the doctrine of blood transfusions being a pun*shable sin. Unwilling to lose the life of his wife or baby during the next delivery, he confessed to his wife that he would not be following the blood doctrine if it came down to it. Alissa agreed, but had no idea it had sent her husband down a slow and secret path of deconstruction, until she confronted him about his absence in the church. Research of rampant CSA coverups, a wishy-washy governing body leader under oath and more left her shocked. Their exit out of the religion was messy and hurtful, leaving behind their entire family who refused to even look at them due to the strict practice of shunning. Why I Left the Jehovah's Witnesses: The Truth Behind My Exit https://youtu.be/Xhn4BTtu3zI?si=0V5b2qnLczRkVNLu Find Alissa on Social: YouTube: @athomewithalissa https://www.youtube.com/@alissasawake IG: @athome_withalissa https://www.instagram.com/athome_withalissa TikTok: @athomewithalissa https://www.tiktok.com/@athomewithalissa We want to meet you in real life! Come adventure with us on our 2nd C2C VACATION! Click here to go to the official booking page: https://trovatrip.com/trip/north-america/mexico/mexico-with-shelise-sola-oct-2025 Subscribe to our C2C "CLIPS" Channel! https://www.youtube.com/@CultstoConsciousnessClips Support C2C - Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast. Find our FULL (uncensored) merch store here! https://cults-to-consciousness-shop.fourthwall.com/en-usd Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness Venmo @sheliseann Find us on Social media! Instagram @cultstoconsciousness https://www.instagram.com/cultstoconsciousness Host Instagram @sheliseann https://www.instagram.com/sheliseann/ Co Producer / Host @jonathan.rosales_ https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.rosales_ TikTok @cults.to.consciousness https://www.tiktok.com/@cults.to.consciousness Twitter @cultstocon https://twitter.com/cultstocon Chapter Marks 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:27 What it was like growing up as a Jehovah's Witness (pressures & disfellowshipping) 00:11:07 Why Alissa wanted to be homeschooled 00:13:16 Alissa meets her husband at 17 and doubles down on the religion 00:16:14 Dating as a Jehovah's Witness 00:18:33 The pressures of being a teenage girl having to get married 00:23:52 Alissa gets engaged, sins and thinks Satan is attacking her relationship 00:26:51 Jehovah's Witnesses discourage having chiIdren 00:30:43 The "no blood" rule causing a scare during birth 00:37:23 Alissa's husband starts secretly deconstructing 00:40:47 Was Alissa's husband filled with Satan?? 00:42:47 Why Alissa's testimony crumbled overnight 00:47:59 What it was like when Alissa and her family were shunned 00:57:31 Setting boundaries and making mental health a priority 01:06:09 Why Alissa decided to start speaking out on social media 01:14:53 How Alissa's life has changed for the better 01:18:34 Linda, Listen 01:20:40 Find and support Alissa! **Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**