The article by Luke Douglas on Christian Post referenced in Mehta's article is a good read as well. It's interesting how he came to question his faith through his legal training by arguing "both sides" to better prepare your own argument. I also liked this part about relationships:

"I think I’ve come to realize that many relationships are conditional. A friendship with Jesus, for example, is conditional on obedience (John 15:14). A relationship with a person that has shared faith at its foundation might be conditional or it might not. When you remove the faith element, you discover whether that person loved you for you or simply loved you for fitting a particular mold. It was agony to find out who was who. The whole thing was without a doubt the worst thing I’ve ever been through at the time, but in hindsight, the best thing that ever happened to me."

[christianpost.com]

Several people I've talked to were like me, and they were religious and trying to learn all the facts about their religion when they ran into facts that didn't match what they'd been raised to believe. From there it's a short trip to atheism.

He is lucky that his brain hadn't died so he could change

The brainwashing was weak on this one so could be changed by facts and data.