Lucía’s Endless Mourning (Argentina)

Lucía, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, was born into a large Jehovah’s Witness family where the faith shaped every part of her upbringing. When she was disfellowshipped in her late twenties after admitting to having a relationship with a non-Witness, her parents and five siblings immediately cut off contact. The shunning was swift and absolute. Lucía describes the experience as akin to losing her entire family in a tragic accident—except they were still alive, actively choosing to pretend she no longer existed. Over the years, she tried to reach out, especially to her younger brother with whom she had once been incredibly close, but her attempts were met with cold silence. Every holiday, special event, and family gathering felt like a fresh wound, as Lucía imagined her family celebrating without her, while she sat alone. She speaks of shunning not just as rejection, but as an ongoing process of grief, where each day reminds her of the relationships she has lost. The void, she says, never closes, and the pain is amplified by the knowledge that reconciliation seems impossible unless she returns to the faith—a step she cannot take for the sake of her mental health.