Growing Up in a Congregation Of Jehovah’s Witnesses

I had just landed in my home county of San Luis Obispo, California, after a disorganized, hysterical flight from my new home of New York City. My father had passed away unexpectedly â?? right before visiting me in New York for the first time â?? and I was inconsolable.

My then-girlfriend, now-wife Brenna and I were staying at my sister's house â?? which was filled all the next day with friends and relations: men in crew cuts, women in long skirts. I was in my band-guy uniform of a black button-up, distressed jeans and long bangs; Brenna wore tattoos and a bolt of purple in her ponytail. To say we stuck out like sore thumbs would be an understatement. Especially since everyone around us was a Jehovah's Witness.