Ryan was killed on the airstrip tarmac. Jackie was shot five times at point-blank range. While recovering from what would become one of the most harrowing tragedies in recent history, Jackie had to choose: Would she become a victim or a fighter? The choice to survive against unfathomable odds empowered her with a resolve to become a vocal proponent for human rights.From the formative nightmare that radically molded her perspective and instincts to the devastating personal and professional challenges that would follow, Undaunted reveals the perseverance of a determined force in American politics. Deeply rooted in Jackie’s experiences as a widow, a mother, a congresswoman, and a fighter, hers is a story of true resilience, one that will inspire other women to draw strength from adversity in order to do what is right—no matter the challenges ahead.

    Here, she lives apart from the outside world and its “evils.”On her thirteenth birthday, Gentry receives a new violin from her father and, more than anything, she wants to play at the Santa Fe Music Festival with her brother, Tanner. But then the Prophet calls from prison and announces he has outlawed music in their community and now forbids women to leave.Determined to play, Gentry and Tanner sneak out. But once they return, the Prophet exercises control from prison, and it has devastating consequences for Gentry and her family. Soon, everything Gentry has known is turned upside down. She begins to question the Prophet’s teachings and his revelations, especially when his latest orders put Gentry’s family in danger. Can Gentry find a way to protect herself and her family from the Prophet and escape the only life she’s ever known?This realistic, powerful story of family, bravery, and following your dreams is a can't-miss debut novel from Melanie Sumrow.

    They are raised among the Children, a community of strays and orphans ruled by a mysterious figure they call Uncle. All they know is the grey Isle of Altnaharra which sits in the black sea off the wildest coast of Scotland. Eve loves the free, savage life of the Isle and longs to inherit Uncle's power. She is untroubled save by her dreams; of soft arms and a woman singing. Dinah longs for something other.But the world is at war and cannot be kept at bay. As the solitude of Altnaharra is broken, Eve's faith and sanity fracture. In a great storm, in the depths of winter, as the old year dies, the locals discover a devastating scene on the Isle.Eve and Dinah's accounts of that night contradict and intertwine. As past and present converge, only one woman can be telling the truth. Who is guilty, who innocent?

    After he built a successful business, the church required him to marry a second wife. Wallace fathered twenty children, but he never felt comfortable with polygamy or many other FLDS beliefs.As his prophet-brother increasingly manipulated him, Wallace started hearing about FLDS atrocities. On the day the FBI arrested Warren Jeffs for child rape, the prophet was en route to reclaim Wallace's second wife for himself. Wallace defied the prophet and soon ended up in a coma. Though Wallace feared FLDS sabotage caused his car crash, he kept fighting the sect.With today's movement against male abusers, Wallace's story reminds us that power and position don't corrupt all men. In 2018, Wallace found resolution by marrying an LDS woman in the Salt Lake Temple. At the same time, he renews our concern for the thousands who still live under FLDS control, including some of Wallace's own children.

    She assimilates, despite her apprehensions, because she is desperate to belong. Soon, she is on fire for God. She speaks in tongues, slays demons, and follows her abusive pastor’s every word―and it’s not until her life is burnt to the ground that she finds the courage to leave. Raw and illuminating, Once You Go In is a coming-of-age story about the beauty and danger of absolute faith, and the stories people tell themselves to avoid their deepest fears.

    Like other Witnesses, she has been discouraged from pursuing a career, higher education, or even voting, and her friendships are limited to the Witness community.Then one day, at age thirty-three, she knocks on a door — and a coworker she deeply respects answers the door. To their mutual consternation she launches into her usual spiel, but this time, for the first time ever, the message sounds hollow. In the months that follow, Curtis tries hard to overcome the doubts that spring from that doorstep encounter, knowing they could upend her "safe" existence. But ultimately, unable to reconcile her incredulity, she leaves her religion and divorces her Witness husband — a choice for which she is shunned by the entire community, including all members of her immediate family.Shunned follows Linda as she steps into a world she was taught to fear and discovers what is possible when we stay true to our hearts, even when it means disappointing those we love.

    Halcyon is run by Valerie Kemp, aka Mother Moon, benevolent and altruistic on the outside, but hiding an unimaginable darkness inside. She has dedicated her life to the pursuit of Glam Moon, a place of eternal beauty and healing. And she believes the pathway there can only be found at the end of pleasure.On the heels of tragedy, Martin Lovegrove moves his family to Halcyon. A couple of months, he tells himself, to retreat from the chaos and grind. He soon begins to suspect there is something beneath Halcyon’s perfect veneer and sets out to discover the truth―however terrible it might be―behind the island and its mysterious founder, Mother Moon.

    When cult leader, Warren Jeffs, took full power, his brutal experimenting profoundly affected her family. Kathy’s innocent children continually held over her to force her into unconditional submission. When Warren found he could not break Kathy, he would stop at nothing to get her out of the way.

    This body of work could have been about you if you were contacted or chosen like I was. Buckle up and get ready to be changed in your thinking forever.

    But beneath the facade of brotherly love and organizational unity lies a captive organization in which doubts are stifled and dissent is ruthlessly crushed. Once a Witness stops believing, they face being ostracized as a loathed "mentally diseased" apostate. They must navigate a labyrinth of obstacles and dilemmas due to the organization's cruel policy of shunning former members. Lloyd Evans is a well known ex-Witness writer and activist, and in his second book he draws on his firsthand, insider knowledge as a former elder to guide would-be escapees through the minefield that awaits them. How should elders be dealt with? What resources are available for objective research? What should someone do if they are threatened with judicial action? What about coming clean to family members? How does someone go about rebuilding their social circle? What precautions should be taken to maintain privacy when browsing apostate material online? All these questions and more are answered in How to Escape From Jehovah's Witnesses, described by Paul Grundy of JWfacts.com as "an invaluable tool in helping [former Witnesses] move on as efficiently and painlessly as possible."

    But where do you start? How can you convey what's on your heart in a way that will be well received? Every relationship and situation is unique, and that's why these essays from respected scholars, apologists, and pastors—including Sandra Tanner, Robert Bowman, David Geisler, Bill McKeever, Mark Mittelberg, J. Warner Wallace, Lynn Wilder, and others—lays out a variety of creative methods for sharing the gospel effectively so you can...initiate authentic conversationsrespond with compassion and clarity to Mormon teachingsunderstand your Mormon friends and find ways to keep the dialogue goingSpeaking the truth to Mormons can feel daunting when you're unprepared. Let the suggestions in this book give you solid ideas for reaching those who are lost but don't realize it.

    from Scientology celebrities, (and how the church uses and abuses them) to the Sea Org (Scientology’s highest level where members who join sign billion-year-contracts to work for them throughout their entire lives) to mysterious deaths, to fair game (from the viewpoint of the attackers as well as the victims) to how Hubbard got some of his (weirder) ideas, to Scientology today (including signs of their decline) and much more. This book was written for people who (think they) know just about everything there is to know about Scientology, to those who know nothing; the stories range from early Hubbard to what is happening today. The chapters were chosen to appeal not only to former Scientologists, but also never-Scientologists, as well as to people who never bought a single book of theirs to those who spent most of their lives [and some believe, even their past lives] in it. The 360+ pages and photos reflect not only that what's interesting, but also what's important in understanding what has happened in this church, right down to what's happening today. Tony Ortega has been chronicling events in Scientology since the early ‘90’s and Paulette Cooper wrote the first major exposé of Scientology ("The Scandal of Scientology") in 1968. She then spent the next 15 years exposing them while they went after her with vengeance. This is chronicled in Tony's first book, "The Unbreakable Miss Lovely."

    Her father was the deluded and cruel leader of a cult based in South London who convinced himself that he was a god, and the immortal leader of the world.Her father's paranoia and his need to completely control those around him led to Katy being imprisoned indoors with the curtains drawn most of the time, denied any kind of love or friendship. From a young age, Katy's father subjected her to violence and mental abuse. She was not permitted contact with anyone outside the house and on the rare occasions she did have to go out, she was always chaperoned. When she did finally engineer her escape she realised just how little she knew of the world outside her front door. She had never before done the things we take for granted such as choosing what she wanted to eat from a menu or travelling by herself on public transport. Step by step, she learned the skills she needed in order to exist in a world that was completely unfamiliar to her.In this unique and powerful memoir, we see how Katy rose above what she suffered and found a way to freedom through her love of books. Reading the works of others enabled her to see her captivity for what it truly was, while writing gave her a voice when her own was silenced. Her story raises fascinating questions, such as how a child can be kept hidden from the world outside and how, in spite of years of being brainwashed, Katy still developed a clear sense of right and wrong.

    Leo thinks nothing of it until the man, Christopher Tate, winds up dead, along with a cryptic note taped to the comedian’s RV window: See you soon, Funnyman. Leo sets out to find the truth about Christopher’s dreams to an odd town named Elswich. Shown to Leo in a dream by a mysterious man named Jarrad Prescott, the town prays to an Otherworldly god named Aypep and give their bodies to host his children in return for eternal life in the Otherworld. It’s a wish granted through sacrifice…

     Whether worrying about the end of the world coming "Any day now", his budding love affair with shrubbery or building bunkers before leaving school to become a full time Minister at 16 you'll find something to cringe about. He also talks about nearly losing and then actually losing his sister to the cult before discovering her all over again, Neil takes you on a funny and awkward jouney with a pretty happy ending! Neil's first book on the subject of the Jehovah's Witnesses "How To Leave A Cult" is available on Amazon and has sold literally dozens of copies.

    This rare memoir then follows her painful struggle and eventually her daring escape as a minor as well as the the complications of the legal system that prevented her safety. We then follow through her journey of coping and eventually healing from the childhood traumas she experienced in the culture.

    But after the sudden death of his brother, his parents split up and his mom drags him to Waco, Texas against his will. At least he's not alone. His friends, Marshal and Rachel, have equally sad stories that end with them being dumped at the Branch Davidian Church.Together, they're the trinity of nonbelievers, atheist teens caught between a soon to be infamous cult leader, an erratic FBI, and an epidemic that may confirm the worst of the church's apocalyptic prophecies. With tanks surrounding the Branch Davidians and tear gas in the air, Cyrus and his friends know one thing for certain: They can't count on the adults to save them.In his debut novel, Jerry Gordon takes readers deep inside the longest standoff in law enforcement history for an apocalyptic thriller that challenges the news media's reporting of the event, the wisdom of militarizing domestic law enforcement, and the blurry line between religion and cult.

    Her pictures show figures that shouldn't be there, figures that hint at the church's true nature. But by the time she understands what she's uncovered, it might be too late for Kate to escape.Meanwhile, as she gets closer to the enigmatic John Dagwood, Kate comes to question her new friend's collection of medieval surgical equipment. Is Dagwood really just a man with a love of history, or is he involved with the same forces that lurk somewhere beneath the church? The Devil's Blade - originally published as The Devil's Photographer - is a horror story about one woman's fight to avoid being used as part of a cult's terrible plan.

    But I wasn’t fooled. One shopped for shoes, clothes, and groceries, not insular bizarre private societies to devote years of one’s life to. After spending almost five years of her childhood in the Synanon cult, Celena has developed a deep longing and desire for normalcy, to live in a house with her mother, attend public school, and meld into the plainness of mainstream American life. In October 1981, Celena’s longtime wish to leave the commune is finally realized, and one cold fall morning she departs by bus from the rural property in Marin with her mother, stepfather, and stepsister to start their lives anew. Yet right from the beginning, ideals of how and where to live clash within their small family. While Celena and her stepsister yearn for a nuclear home, their parents are on the hunt for the next utopia. Money is tight and tempers are hot as the four try to navigate the challenge of what it is to be a family while attempting to survive in a society that rewards individualism over collectivism. For the first time, Celena is made aware of what it means to be black in a white world, sometimes struggling with a level of invisibility that she was not prepared for. Longing to belong somewhere, she develops the fierce desire to return to Los Angeles and the African American communities she came from. As Celena grows into a young woman, her existential angst has her questioning God’s existence and taking a hard look at materialism and the values of the American mainstream culture that she once idealized. Over time, she learns to embrace the counterculture lifestyle of the Santa Cruz community that she and her family have settled in. Through her stepfather’s role as a drug counselor at the Sunflower House rehab, she comes to have a deeper understanding of what the Synanon cult was all about and why people initially became attracted to the commune. This is the story of a young woman’s search for identity while coming to terms with her past as a Synanon kid.

    For years, she worked as a personal assistant known as a “Commodore’s Messenger” for Scientology’s elusive founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who was recognized aboard his ships as “the Commodore.” No books about Scientology compare to the scope of Janis’ or for the meticulous detail, accuracy and depth of insight that she reveals from the epicenter of the Scientology movement. Janis was born in Australia to Scientology “royalty,” the youngest child of Peter F. Gillham, the founder of internationally noted nutritional product “Natural Calm”, and Yvonne Gillham-Jentz sch, founder of the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Centre. Janis’ stepfather is Heber Jentz sch, known for many years as the President of the Church of Scientology International, and its primary spokesman. This book picks up where Book One ended with Janis, at age 14, along with her older brother Peter and sister Terri, all members of Scientology’s inner core, the Sea Organization. Aboard the Scientology ship Apollo, Janis worked as one of the fi rst four personal messengers of Scientology leader, L. Ron Hubbard. She had a front-row seat as the ship sailed between Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, and she was privy to Hubbard’s att empts to ingratiate Scientology with the Moroccan government as it faced att empted coups and brutal crackdowns. As more and more ports denied entry to the Apollo, Hubbard crossed the Atlantic to the somewhat friendlier waters of the Caribbean, though still harassed by numerous agencies including the U.S. State Department, FBI, Interpol among others. This harrowing journey takes you from October 1970 until October 1975, when L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology headquarters moved from his personal yacht to land in the United States. Commodore’s Messenger: Riding Out the Storms is the second volume of the trilogy that chronicles Janis Grady’s epic journey and that of Scientology’s mysterious Sea Organization.

    Michelle finally ends her horrific marriage, finds the love of her life, a woman, and ultimately leaves the Church. But the split comes at a terrible price. Her once pristine reputation is publicly dragged through the mud, the police raid her home, her ex-husband tries to gain full custody of their children, and the multi-million dollar business she built from scratch is utterly destroyed.In this tell-all memoir, Michelle offers an insider's perspective on Scientology's pervasive influence, secret rituals, and ruthless practices for keeping members in line. It's a story of self-acceptance, of finding the strength and courage to stand up for your emotional freedom, and of love prevailing.

    They believe that sickness bears honesty. And that honesty bears change. Fueled by the ritualized Cytoxan treatments that leave them on the verge of death, they instigate the Day of Gifts, a day that spells shocking violence and the group's demise. Enter Mason Hues, formerly known as Thirty-Seven, the group's final member and the only one both alive and free. Eighteen years old and living in a spartan apartment after his release from a year of intensive mental health counseling, he takes a job at a thrift shop and expects to while away his days as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. But when his enigmatic boss Talley learns his secret, she comes to believe that there is still hope in the Survivor philosophy. She pushes Mason to start the group over again -- this time with himself as One.Part Fight Club, part The Girls, and entirely unlike anything you've ever experienced, Peter Stenson's Thirty-Seven is an audacious and austere novel that explores our need to belong. Our need to be loved. Our need to believe in something greater than ourselves, and our ultimate capacity for self-delusion.

    It’s the beginning of senior year and her mom just lost her job. Even worse, she isn’t planning to get another one. Instead, she’s spending every waking moment with a group called the Next World Society, whose members are convinced they’ll be leaving Earth behind on November 17. It sounds crazy to Rooney, but to her mother and younger brother it sounds like salvation. As her mom’s obsession threatens to tear their lives apart, Rooney is scrambling to hold it all together. But will saving her family mean sacrificing her dreams—or theirs?

    …Crust of my crust. One day life is normal. You’re standing in the local O-Mart staring at cooking appliances when it happens: you see HER, the love of your life, in all her beautiful glory – and it’s as if she’d been there your whole entire life, waiting for you. Her name is as simple as two heartbeats: Lucille. And I swear to live off those two heartbeats until the day I die… Then it happens, a different day, and life is no longer normal. A stranger knocks at the door, bringing with him a world far weirder than the imagination could possibly comprehend. He claims Lucille to be his Creatrix, and I the Prophet to her purpose. The man states he is a true believer, one of the Filii Tosti, and has come to devote himself to beloved Lucille. How many other believers are out there? And how far will the Filii Tosti go to serve their cycle under The Creatrix? Writer Austin James debuts with a wonderfully twisted story that is completely bizarre and entirely endearing. Mixing mutant and melding mutant creatures with tones of true romance, and served with enough grotesqueries to satisfy to the most gluttonous of minds. Also included, an array of short stories that take the reader even further into the mind of James’ askew view within the word-world: Sun Kissed, Recovery, Mess, Snow Globe and Violet Crime.”

    Among the dead was one New Zealander. How did she come to join the group and what events led her to her tragic end? Hearken O Daughter is written by Grace Adams and Poia Alpha, who were former members of the Branch Davidians and sisters to the New Zealander who died. This is their personal story of their journey in and out of the Branch Davidian cult. Their story begins with a detailed description of the early days with the group, to the dropping of a 'bomb-shell' teaching four years later, and culminating into one man's excessive power and control over the minds of the people. This narrative is unlike other Branch Davidian accounts. It is highly transparent and intentional in purpose with a recovery section that provides help, hope and healing to individuals, families and communities who have been connected or affected by spiritually abusive groups.