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booknerd_therapist 's review for:
Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church
by Lauren Drain
I read some of the negative reviews of this book, and I have to say I don't agree with them at all. Far from feeling "positive" about the WBC, Lauren relates her feelings at the time she was in the church, which are not the same as her feelings after being banished. Of course her feelings at the time she was in the church are going to be happy -- that is what happens when you're brainwashed. Some reviewers have also complained she was a "whiny teenage girl trying to fit in." If you don't know the basics of psychology or what it means to be in a cult, please read up on that before picking up this book so you can appreciate Lauren's message.
The WBC has gotten nationwide and perhaps even worldwide attention for its behavior, picketing anything and everything with signs that say "God hates fags," "God hates America," "Thank God for dead soldiers," etc. While most people are appalled by such behavior, Lauren's father was seduced by the cult, leading him to uproot the entire family to become one of the few non-Phelps families that are part of the cult. Lauren relates her story of the verbal and physical abuse, humiliation, and house arrest that attributed to her brainwashing and becoming a cult member. She explains the thinking behind why God "wants" the WBC to picket funerals, concerts, high school graduations and whatever else, and why she genuinely believed she was doing the right thing at the time. She follows the story through all the way to being banished for talking to a man not part of the church -- resulting in her losing her friends, family, and home for good.
Lauren's story is so important for "outsiders" to understand, especially since to date, 19 members of the WBC have escaped. She has started a foundation to encourage members to escape the cult and help them get back on their feet in the "real world." If we are to dissolve this cult, we need to accept ex-members for who they are and not what they used to be, and show them that kindness and compassion go much further than hate to solve our problems.
The WBC has gotten nationwide and perhaps even worldwide attention for its behavior, picketing anything and everything with signs that say "God hates fags," "God hates America," "Thank God for dead soldiers," etc. While most people are appalled by such behavior, Lauren's father was seduced by the cult, leading him to uproot the entire family to become one of the few non-Phelps families that are part of the cult. Lauren relates her story of the verbal and physical abuse, humiliation, and house arrest that attributed to her brainwashing and becoming a cult member. She explains the thinking behind why God "wants" the WBC to picket funerals, concerts, high school graduations and whatever else, and why she genuinely believed she was doing the right thing at the time. She follows the story through all the way to being banished for talking to a man not part of the church -- resulting in her losing her friends, family, and home for good.
Lauren's story is so important for "outsiders" to understand, especially since to date, 19 members of the WBC have escaped. She has started a foundation to encourage members to escape the cult and help them get back on their feet in the "real world." If we are to dissolve this cult, we need to accept ex-members for who they are and not what they used to be, and show them that kindness and compassion go much further than hate to solve our problems.