[1] Wright also disclosed that he had received "innumerable" letters threatening legal action from lawyers representing Scientology and celebrities who belong to it.

In Scientology parlance, "Clear" means a state of having freed oneself from "subconscious memories of past trauma".

[5] The New York Times published Michael Kinsley's review of the book, where he wrote: "That crunching sound you hear is Lawrence Wright bending over backward to be fair to Scientology.

"[6] Clark Collis reviewed the book for Entertainment Weekly, writing: Lawrence Wright, who won a Pulitzer for 2006's The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, interviewed roughly 200 current and former Scientologists for the book, which began as a 2011 New Yorker article written with Haggis' cooperation.

[7]Karen Swartz reviewed the book for Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, writing that Wright achieves his goal for the book, providing “a rich history that engages current questions,” while allowing for a “more nuanced discourse” of the meaning of religion, while perpetuating a “heavily Protestant understanding.” She also commented that the author recognized the lack of information provided by the Church of Scientology and encouraged readers to research further.

Sweeney speculated that the reason Transworld backed out of their contract for Wright's book was the litigious nature of the Church of Scientology combined with the strong libel laws in England.