AllTimeJeff wrote:

"It is my opinion that JW's have a structure with a built in schedule. To people who have lived chaotic lives, it does have the benefit of organizing their lives somewhat." and " If they can overcome the newness of it or their shyness, since many were already considered "weird" or just not part of a group, they didn't seem to care what others thought. They've been outcasts all their life. Now they can be outcasts while pleasing YHWH and the elders."

AllTimeJeff - I must say what you said really hit the nail on the head for me. My parents were not JW's. My mother died when I was 13, leaving me to be raised by an alcoholic father who died when I was 22. I had an extremely dysfunctional childhood, and I saw the JW way of life as 'normal', and yes, I felt it gave organization to my life. My father scorned the middle class, and I enjoyed that for a time, being different. But as I got older, I craved being normal, making small talk, and acquiring some social skills. At the time the JW's provided that. I had always felt like an outcast, a loner, when I was growing up. My father was a beat poet in San Francisco in the 60's, so I had a very unorthodox upbringing. Then all of a sudden, I belonged to this large family, and at first, felt alot of love within the Borg.

Thanks to all for your thoughts - Deirdre