Carol Nyburg is back, and she has a Scientology story that will rough you up

In 2013 we wrote about Carol Nyburg, a familiar face for many former Church of Scientology members who recall seeing her at the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida. Wealthy Scientologists from around the world spend vast amounts of money to visit Flag, Scientology’s “spiritual” headquarters, and Carol was the person who helped you set up your accommodations and welcomed you when you arrived.

But after 26 years in the Sea Org, Carol decided that she’d had enough with the harsh SO life under church leader David Miscavige, and made her exit. She wrote up her experiences for Steve Hall’s website, and we were particularly struck by one passage…

Another really scary thing happened during this time, it was called “Boot Camp.” This was some kind of nutty ethics program that didn’t start till after you had worked all day. So at 11 pm a group of us, all registrars like myself from all over the base, not just accommodations counselors but IAS, Freewinds, Planetary Dissemination registrars, too. There were about 15 to 20 of us. First we would do exercises. I was just turning 60 at this time. This was not an easy ordeal for me. Then we would do close order drilling. If you goofed up, you had to drop and do pushups or some such thing. Then we were taken to a renovation project that was going on at the Base somewhere and made to do some horrible job till about 2 am. We were then taken to our berthings to sleep and we had to be back in at 8:30 am for more ethics handlings and special reading assignments, then on to post, then boot camp again at 11 pm. This was my most fearful time in my entire career. The reason was because it did not follow anything I had ever read about Scientology ethics and I had no idea how it would end or what to do to ensure it would end. It finally did end. At the end I had to write up how “beneficial” it was for me and how much “better” I was doing then. Of course I just did it because I would have done anything to make sure this abuse stopped.

The idea of Sea Org workers at Flag doing calisthenics at midnight reminded us that signing a billion-year contract is maybe not the best idea in the world.

Anyway, we heard from Carol again recently, and she wanted to bring us up to date on some of the things that have been happening for her since she left the church.

Last year, for example, she too participated in a television series that Derek Bloch and Phil Jones wrote about this week. It’s a series that involved a lot of people familiar to Underground Bunker readers, but so far it hasn’t received an airdate. (Full disclosure: We worked as a consultant on the series for about a month, helping Sirens Media complete its episode lineup.)

Carol tells us that she was asked to participate because, like the others, she’s been a victim of Scientology’s toxic policy of “disconnection.” When she decided to leave her job at Flag, her daughter Nancy followed orders and cut Carol entirely out of her life, which included keeping Carol away from Nancy’s three children. (Carol tells us that Nancy had grown up in Scientology’s “Cadet Org” and was a Sea Org worker herself from 1997 to 2004, but today Nancy is a “public,” and doesn’t work for the church.)

For the TV series, Carol says she was flown to Clearwater in March 2016, hoping for a chance to see her daughter. The production team had found out where Nancy was living, and they also managed to get a recent photo of her. Here’s what Carol tells us about it…

When I saw the picture, I completely broke down and was pretty done for the rest of that day. She was pregnant again. Of course, I didn’t know this and she had to be over eight months along. She looked ready to deliver any minute. This was so startling to me that I just lost it completely. Then I got worried about seeing her at all and that it might be harmful to her – a shock for her as it was for me.

We went ahead with our plan the next day. I got out of the car and went to the door but everything was so quiet. No one came to the door and there were no sounds anywhere. I looked in the backyard and things were just too tidy. Our group speculated what had happened. I thought they had gone to see her husband’s mother not too far from there but that idea was not followed up on. We tried the next morning and then gave it up and flew home out of Tampa with a layover in Dallas for about three hours.

I had put a call through to my son Jeff. He left Scientology years ago but was never in the Sea Org and was never declared. His dad ordered him to disconnect from me when I got declared but he said he never would. I am his mother – enough said. He had told his sister how disgusted he was with her for disconnecting from me. Anyway, I asked him to please call her or try to find out what happened to her and why was she no longer at her house. He called me. I was walking around the Dallas airport with a cup of coffee and he told me the Church found out I was in Clearwater and got her to pack up and move out of her house. I was so shocked by this that I just started crying. I went to a bathroom stall and sobbed and sobbed. I was alone and really hurting….

I never heard about Nancy’s baby. I do not know if she had a boy or girl. I just cannot look at her Facebook page, just cannot do it. I would rather not know at all than sit and think about it and see pictures of all of them without me in any of them.

Another devastating story, and there’s not a reason in the world it should be happening. Or, that an organization that calls itself a “church” should be getting away with it.

Carol wanted us to know that she does have good news to share…

On a happier note, I reunited with my high school sweetheart. We had dated and we were even engaged all those years ago. We broke up and went our separate ways and recently reunited and are now married and we are very happy. He has two wonderful grown children and five beautiful grandchildren that I see regularly and spoil as much as possible. I have so much to be thankful for and have now accepted that I will not see Nancy again. I realize forever is a long time and anything can happen. I pray for her and of course for myself and have been truly blessed with God giving me a new family to love and the love of my son who has been true to me all throughout. I have asked God’s forgiveness for my delivering Nancy to Scientology as a baby. She doesn’t really have much outside life experience. She knows Scientology ethics and lifestyle. She lives it and believes it and that is really hard to break from where she is. Now I just need to keep moving forward with God’s help.

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 2, 2017 at 07:00

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Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2016 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2016), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield