Oliver, from Johannesburg, South Africa, was a devoted Jehovah’s Witness until his mid-thirties, when he began questioning certain doctrines and ultimately left the faith. His departure led to immediate disfellowshipping, and his wife, who remained in the organization, turned his children against him. Oliver describes the shunning from his children as the most heart-wrenching part of his experience. His teenage son and daughter, whom he had raised with love, stopped answering his calls and refused to see him, believing that associating with him would endanger their standing within the congregation. For Oliver, the grief felt almost unbearable, as though his children had died, even though they lived just a few miles away. He tried to write letters, send gifts, and reach out in any way possible, but their rejection only deepened his pain. Years later, he still struggles with the loss, saying that the absence of his children has created a void in his heart that nothing can fill. The grieving is constant, he explains, because every day without them feels like another day stolen by the shunning policy.