Karen de la Carriere, 70, was a member of Scientology for 35 years and attained a rank only shared by a handful of others She rubbed shoulders with the church's elite including John Travolta But she questioned the leadership and says she was brutally punished for it She claims she was made to run 12 hours a day for three months and was 'imprisoned' in 'The Hole' and had to chip paint off a metal pole day after day She claims in Sea Org, the management branch, they banned children and forced couples She left in 2010 and her own son turned on her and she blames Scientology for his ultimate death from pneumonia Church dismissed Karen as being like a 'lunatic' who spreads 'falsehoods' because she has a 'personal axe to grind'

By Laura Collins In Los Angeles for MailOnline

Published: 06:28 EST, 10 September 2014 | Updated: 15:56 EST, 10 September 2014

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Karen de la Carriere, 70, was a member of the Church of Scientology for 35 years. She was married to its President. She held a level of 'enlightenment' and a rank within its organization shared by only a handful of others. She was one of its 'rock stars'.

But when she left in 2010 she was branded a 'Suppressive Person', cast out, harassed and cut off from her son so completely that, when he died in 2012, she learned of his passing via a Facebook posting by a stranger.

Now, for the first time, she has given her full, personal and excoriating account and shared a treasure trove of previously unseen pictures from her years inside the notoriously secretive organization.

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'Queen of Scientology' Karen de la Carriere reveals the Church's innermost secrets