Those of us who left Jehovah’s Witnesses have all experienced the Watchtower policy of “shunning” those who leave on their own or are disfellowshipped.  Shunning is a painful experience because it prevents your friends and relatives from speaking to you or inviting you to normal family functions. In some cases, shunning even goes so far as the Jehovah’s Witness relatives throwing away the personal letters of their loved ones who left the organization for fear that their personal “spiritually” will be corrupted if they even so much as “read” a letter from a shunned loved one.  It’s so sad how many families I personal know of that have been divided over this policy.