October 6, 2020

Is it possible that one excruciating moment in the first 2020 Presidential debate could alter the course of Trump’s America? Because you never know what will cause the crack, like a door peeking open into a darkened room, a wedge of light sprouting. Sometimes, a splinter of light can change the world.

October 2020

I didn’t know how she would respond. I feared the worst but couldn’t let that stop me. I had labored over my last blog post, mostly pruning the many-limbed tree of my ideas around Donald Trump as a Cult Leader. But I couldn’t publish it until I saw her in person.

It’s time for a dose of reality

September 26, 2020

An apocalyptic mindset has been growing since the earliest days of Donald Trump’s presidency. As a cult awareness educator, I have watched in horror as coercive, cultic techniques I study and have personally experienced, are delivered to the American public by our President. His self-importance, dismissal of staff whose loyalty wavers and his compelling, but derisive ideology has been strengthened by pushback from those who oppose him. Opposition fuels a cult leader. So does a narrative that flaunts death and the destruction of the earth and its inhabitants.

Nov 2, 2019

I caught the first glimpse driving north on Rt 14 and my heart sank. It happens every year, but I was not ready for the first hillside of dull gray sticks on the northwest slope of Bragg Hill. I have been enraptured by the vibrant colors of autumn magic, drinking in the red and gold. I am grateful for life in Vermont and am in awe of the miracle that occurs as trees crescendo into their fiery brilliant tapestry. But today, I want peak foliage to last longer, damn it! I stamp my foot like a child wanting a third scoop of strawberry ice cream.

April 4, 2020

Sinking his teeth into a meaty barbecue rib, Sammy stops mid-bite. Self conscious of his barely noticeable double chin, he’s trying to reduce his consumption of fatty foods. He holds it out towards my plate with a hopeful, messy smile but I’m quick to respond with an emphatic “No.” I’ve finished many of my kid’s suppers, but not this one. Lily would have taken that succulent bone like a prize, returning later with a satisfied grin and dirt on her snout and front paws. But we still ache too much from losing her in the fall to open our hearts to another dog. For now, we are a canine deprived household which is a dilemma for carnivores: what to do with the bones? Small ones go in the compost, worms eventually making magic soil of them. I’m determined to not let food waste end up in a landfill on my watch, so I snap at Sammy “Bring it out for the coyotes if you’re not going to finish it.”

Jan 26, 2020

That’s a big question for those of us in recovery from spiritual or cultic abuse. A friend from out of state, who is a therapist told a client, who is a cult survivor, about a support group he might be interested in. He laughed at her. “Join a group? Heck no. Never again. I’m done with groups!”

Nov 2, 2019

I caught the first glimpse driving north on Rt 14 and my heart sank. It happens every year, but I was not ready for the first hillside of dull gray sticks on the northwest slope of Bragg Hill. I have been enraptured by the vibrant colors of autumn magic, drinking in the red and gold. I am grateful for life in Vermont and am in awe of the miracle that occurs as trees crescendo into their fiery brilliant tapestry. But today, I want peak foliage to last longer, damn it! I stamp my foot like a child wanting a third scoop of strawberry ice cream.

Have you ever read a book and thought, if everyone read this, the world will be a better place? Me too.

I told Paula about Rising out of Hatred, the Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow while sipping tea in the Williston Coffee shop. The book describes the extraordinary journey of the former white supremacist Derek Black who, thanks to his college friends, came to denounce the ideals he was raised on.