Bøker av K Gordon Neufeld

Mass weddings. Matching ceremonies where people meet their future spouses for the first time. Desperate flower-sellers approaching bar customers late at night. Isolated farms where young men and women are rapidly transformed into fanatical devotees of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. All these are well-known aspects of life in the Unification Church, often called the "Moonies."In Heartbreak and Rage: Ten Years Under Sun Myung Moon, a Cult Survivor's Memoir, K. Gordon Neufeld recalls his participation in all of these events in a powerful and engrossing, yet sometimes wistful and tender, memoir. Even when he was rejected by the woman Moon chose for his bride, and by the church to which he was dedicated, he refused to give up. This is an unforgettable story of persistence, devotion, love and loss.Now, in this new second edition of his memoir, Neufeld brings the reader up to date, by recounting the wonderful life and love he has found following publication of the first edition. Though the first edition ends on a pensive, yet slightly sad note, the second edition is much more reassuring, showing that even the most difficult circumstances, once endured, can lead to a life of creative fire and redeeming love.

A young woman follows her husband and guru on a wearying trek through the wilderness. A dedicated follower of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon recounts a long, and ultimately heartbreaking, day selling candy and flowers for his Master. A young acolyte of Opus Dei has a key realization as she seeks to recruit her best friend to the faith. A teenage girl who learns that she is about to be married to a much older man in a polygamous sect makes a desperate bid for freedom. A small boy describes his family's transformation by his father's conversion to a fundamentalist church. These, and other stories in this startling collection, bring to life the painful dilemmas and heart-rending sacrifices of those who adopt extreme beliefs, and of those who know and love them. Many of these stories have previously appeared in literary journals and similar publications.