Search -
Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman's Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult
Out of the Cocoon A Young Woman's Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult Author:Brenda Lee At this very moment, there are millions of cult members world-wide. Do you think you could never become one of them? Think again. — Brenda Lee has written a heart-wrenching, yet inspiring tale about her battle to escape from a religious cult after enduring decades of dysfunction and abuse. "Out of the Cocoon" is a remarkable story about how a sin... more »gle visit from two seemingly "nice" strangers nearly cost her everything, including her life. This story begins at the pinnacle of the author's desperation, by relaying a chilling fantasy she created when she was twelve years old. After accomplishing her grisly, murderous task within the security of a dream, she poses a disturbing question that sets the stage for the rest of her story: What could make a child so angry that she would fantasize about taking away the lives of the two people who gave her life?
To understand Brenda's fragile emotional state, we have to go back to the beginning, when her childhood innocence reigned and unconditional love was abundant -- when she didn't feel all alone in the world. In subsequent chapters, author Brenda Lee transports the reader back in time to relive the innocence of her childhood on a 100-year-old farm in rural Pennsylvania, where her carefree days were filled by swinging from vines, raising farm animals as pets, romping through the forests with her cousins, and plunging from the hayloft.
Once "The Friends" knock on the door, however, her childhood and innocence dramatically disappear. But Brenda Lee refuses to become a victim and, like a butterfly, she learns to change the world within her when her external world becomes unbearable. After surviving years of stifling oppression and isolation, Brenda emerges from her cocoon and struggles to take flight. As she tries to fit into society as a young adult, she learns some startling things about her family, this "wicked world", and herself. In time, she learns to forgive not only those who tormented her, but also the mother who disowned her.« less