white, us v. them, good v. evil, formulaic solutions. The rise of the Internet; increasingly sophisticated knowledge about how to influence and manipulate others; and the growing vulnerabilities of people across the planet-make for a dangerous, potentially devastating combination. Steven Hassan's new book Freedom of Mind provides the knowledge and awareness needed to help yourself and loved ones avoid or escape from such dangerous people and situations. This must-read volume is a significantly updated and revised edition of Hassan's groundbreaking Releasing the Bonds (2000). People who read and benefitted from that book-and also his earlier book, Combatting Cult Mind Control (1989)-will want to read Hassan's latest. It provides an up-to-the-minute guide to the reality of 'undue influence'-the preferred term for mind control-in the post 9/11 era. Unstable Global Environment Enhances Dangers of Unethical Control The world has changed greatly in the last decade. The rise of the Internet, the emergence of global terrorism and of dangerous totalistic ideologies, and the shifts in global markets-these and other changes have created new opportunities for unscrupulous individuals, groups, and institutions to exert unethical control over others. Freedom of Mind exposes the techniques and methods that individuals, cults, and institutions of all types-religious, business, therapeutic, educational, governmental-use to undo a person's capacity to think and act independently. Individuals More Vulnerable than Ever The Internet is now the primary vehicle for recruitment and indoctrination. It is also a means for spreading sophisticated information about social psychology, hypnosis, and other techniques of social control, which are being used-in ways both effective and dangerous-by 'influence professionals.' Meanwhile, people are becoming increasingly vulnerable. Sleep-deprived, overweight and looking to improve themselves, overloaded with often frightening images and information; anxious about the current economic decline, climate change, and government corruption on all levels. People are more susceptible than ever to charismatic figures who offer simple, black v. white, us v. them, good v. evil, formulaic solutions. These factors-the rise of the Internet; increasingly sophisticated knowledge about how to influence and manipulate others; and the growing vulnerabilities of people across the planet-make for a dangerous, potentially devastating combination. Freedom of Mind Provides Help for Yourself, a Loved One, or a Friend Hassan's new book, Freedom of Mind, aims to fill the gap. It identifies and explains how to identify and evaluate potentially dangerous groups and individuals. Hassan details his groundbreaking approach, the 'Strategic Interactive Approach, ' which can be used to help a loved one leave such a situation. Step-by-step, Hassan shows you how to: evaluate the situation; interact with dual identities; develop communication strategies using phone calls, letter writing and visits; understand and utilize cult beliefs and tactics; use reality-testing and other techniques to promote freedom of mind. He emphasizes the value of meeting with trained consultants to be effectively guided and coached and also to plan and implement effective interventions. The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is knowledge and awareness.

    - IndieReaderA gay man escapes the cult of Reverend Sun Myung Moon after ten years and becomes a successful movie distributor in Hollywood. But the deep self-loathing that brought him to the Reverend Moon’s congregation leads him down a dark path of drugs and broken relationships until one final, traumatic moment defines whether he will live or die. A profound journey of self-discovery and acceptance, William Poe’s latest novel is a probing look into the darker reaches of the human psyche. Simon Powell has spent ten years of his life as a member of the cult of Reverend Moon. Unfulfilled, he breaks free of the Unification Church and returns home to Arkansas only to be rocked by the death of his father. In desperate need of feeling grounded, he ventures to Hollywood and reconnects with a former lover and the lawyers he once hired to defend Reverend Moon on income tax evasion charges. Before long, however, he splits with his lover and embarks on an unending series of soulless, drug-filled nights and broken relationships. Just as his money is running out, however, he gets an interview that just might get his life back on track. Quickly becoming a successful movie distributor, Simon’s drug problem merely spirals into the dark abyss. Cocaine gives way to crack as he spends money faster than he can make it to feed his drug and sex habit. But they both fail to fill the void deep inside and his life careens hopelessly out of control. Finally convinced to enter rehab, the continued abuse for being gay drives him towards one final, desperate decision that will leave his life hanging in the balance. Exploring the struggle of reintegration into society of a gay man after years of self-denial and repression, Poe’s newest is a fascinating portrait of cultism, drugs, the Hollywood gay scene, and the motion picture industry. A masterpiece full of an aching longing and desperation, Simon Says is a troubling, provocative, and ultimately triumphant look into addiction, recovery, and our need to be loved.

    Children molded by a high-control religious experience are cursed with toxic residue-ghosts-that make it a challenge, crazy at times, to walk away unscarred, as adults. This book is a sequel to Growing Up in Mama's Club, a memoir about the author's sixteen-year experience growing up as a Jehovah's Witness. Ghosts not only chronicles Mr. Kelly's unlikely adulthood but the improbable lives of his wife of forty-eight years and a sister who paid dearly for her dysfunctional childhood.

    Morantz has spent most of his career fighting to free victims of often violent sects and to curb abusive cult activities through ground-breaking litigation. His efforts at educating the public and the legal community about the dangers of cults and brainwashing helped change long-held misconceptions and outdated laws. But they also led to deep personal losses and multiple death threats. In the midst of a legal battle with Synanon that consumed nearly a decade of his life, followers of the once-acclaimed drug rehabilitation center turned paranoid cult attempted to murder him by stuffing a four-foot-long rattlesnake in his mailbox. The book provides the often-alarming details of his involvement with nearly every major cult that has emerged in this country since the 1970s. He tells of a polite young man he befriended while working a summer job after college who was transformed into a murderous Manson henchman. He provides a unique perspective on the still-bewildering story of heiress Patty Hearst's crime spree with the Symbionese Liberation Army. He reveals the little-known details of the custody battle that was one of the driving forces behind the massacre and mass suicides at Jonestown. Morantz also recalls the chilling tale of the Oregon guru whose followers attempted to poison an entire town and the bizarre, science fiction-based origins of Scientology, the longest-running and most successful cult in history.