When Religion Hurts is a story about the potentially inhibitive effects of early childhood religious indoctrination. While the story itself is fiction, many of the events are based on the real-life experiences of the author and others who grew up as Jehovah's Witnesses. These real-life experiences are expressed through the personal and professional struggles of the main character in her unconscious and then conscious fight to break free from the psychological chains of religion. Like many who have experienced the heavy weight of religious control and manipulation, she believes she has to choose between her profession and her God. A person's chosen profession can be an expression of who he or she is. Denying oneself of a beloved vocation may actually be denial of who you are. Mailin is forced to grapple with this and many other issues as she strives to find her spiritual independence. Though the story focuses on the Jehovah's Witness organization, many of the truths uncovered can and should be applied to any religious system where the rules and rituals take authority over the individual, or personal relationship one should have with his or her Creator.

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