I’m a survivor. I escaped the bondage of a religious cult, coming out on the other side battered both physically and mentally, but not beaten.
That’s great, but how does one move past that? Not just survive, but flourish? After I escaped, I battled nightmares for ten years, waking up in a cold sweat in fear that the cult leaders had hurt someone I loved or had kidnapped my small children. I spiraled as my thoughts threatened to destroy my sanity, my faith, and my relationships.
How does one escape the mental hold of a cult-even after one escapes it clutches? How does one battle a nightmare?
For me, it was getting down on my knees and praying earnestly and somewhat impatiently for God to defeat the monsters that lurked in my dreams. I don’t know how long I would have struggled if it hadn’t been for the support of my loving husband, who was also praying. I had always loved writing and when the thought struck me that I should write my story, he encouraged me to take the time to follow through with it.
I was one hundred pages into my first attempt when I finally found relief and the nightmares had all but disappeared. Then I relaxed and life got busy. I shoved the typewritten pages into a manilla envelope and stuffed it in the drawer.
The envelope lay there, forgotten until years later, when the nightmares resurfaced. That’s when I started over, albeit somewhat frantically. If it worked once, it would work again. Right?
Clothed in fiction, I set to work writing my story. I created the strong and brave character, Eve; in whose shoes I could step into. As I continued to write over a four-year period, the nightmares disappeared a second time-and my story, Eve’s Covering emerged. In it, Eve fights an obvious battle against evil and the cult leaders who are determined to control her and her family.
Come with me. I will walk you through my memories and how they inspired me to write Eve’s Covering. I will share my true experiences and we will expose the cult together.
Step into my shoes and pick up the sword. It’s time we slay the monster.
