Our Favorite Resources
The Editorial Board of Tears of Eden is working hard to originate content to provide resources for survivors of Spiritual Abuse. But these writers and social media activists also have some of their own favorite resources. Guess what? They are all different!
Cait’s Recs—One of the best ways for me to learn is through podcasts because I can listen while I’m doing chores or taking a walk. In fact, listening to "Uncertain" was how I found out about Tears of Eden! A couple of my current favorites that educate on spiritual abuse, coercive control, and trauma are “A Little Bit Culty,” hosted by Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames, survivors of NXIVM, and “The Influence Continuum,” hosted by cult expert Dr. Steven Hassan. Both shows interview experts who provide deep insights into abusive environments and relationships as well as ways to heal. I also like to follow social media accounts from licensed, trauma-informed professionals like Dr. Laura Anderson (@drlauraeanderson on Instagram) and Natalie Kember (@freedom.from.spiritualabuse on Instagram).
Katherine’s Recs—I really enjoy learning from documentaries. The few coming to mind are We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime), Pray Away (Netflix), God Forbid (Hulu), and Leaving Neverland (HBOMax). We Need to Talk About Cosby and Leaving Neverland really demonstrate how predators/abusers are calculated in their abuse, grooming entire communities and cultures. I feel like it helped me to release a lot of responsibility I felt for "letting myself get abused." Abusers lie and manipulate to get what they want. It wasn't my fault! Pray Away and God Forbid expose the damage Spiritual Abuse can cause--though neither of them name Spiritual Abuse directly. I also just watched the 2004 film, Saved, with Mandy Moore and Macaulay Culkin. It's a comedy, but it revealed the hypocrisy and damage of evangelical culture and very tactfully didn't mock God, Jesus, or religion in general. I feel like fiction and comedy are a fantastic mechanism for telling the truth. On that note, if you haven't seen any of Taylor Tomlinson's Netflix standup comedy specials, drop everything you're doing and watch them now!
Shelly’s Recs—One of my favorite things to do is read (or listen to) memoirs! Hearing how others have survived spiritual and societal trauma whether in a high control community, workspace, or cultic environment has healed me in ways I didn't quite expect. Some of my favorite cult-based memoirs are: Girl at the End of the World: My Escape from Fundamentalism in Search of Faith with a Future by Elizabeth Esther., Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life by Sarah Edmondson, An Everyday Cult by Gerette Buglion, Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult by Catherine Oxenberg and To the Moon and Back: A Childhood Under the Influence by Lisa Kohn. Peppering in other empowering memoirs like Untamed by Glennon Doyle, Eat, Pray, Love (an oldie but goodie) by Elizabeth Gilbert and On Being Human: A Memoir of Waking Up, Living Real, and Listening Hard by Jenn Pastiloff is also essential for me. Ingesting hours of stories about cults and spiritual abuse can be a lot for any survivor, so tempering it with the drama and trauma of a shared human experience where the individual emerges victorious, before hitting too much of the darkness, is always a welcome reprieve.
Tell us some of your favorite resources in the comments!
Check out our Resource page for more recommended books, articles, and episodes.