by C. A. Wittman | Jan 29, 2023 | Blog, Cults
In October 1981, I left the Synanon cult with my family, which consisted of my mother, stepfather, and stepsister. We left Synanon with few resources. My mother’s father gave us a car he had bought at auction and a thousand dollars to start our new life. We were...
by C. A. Wittman | Jan 17, 2023 | Blog, Cults
Transcendentalism and Theosophy were popular spiritual and philosophical movements that emerged in fringe circles during the nineteenth century and continued into the early twentieth century. Transcendentalism, inspired by the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson,...
by C. A. Wittman | Jan 15, 2023 | Blog, Cults
“I told you mothers do not matter here. We are all your mothers. Isn’t that better than just having one?” An ordinary weekend becomes surreal when Celena’s mother, whom she has not seen for years, returns to claim her. Told that she is going to...
by C. A. Wittman | Aug 13, 2017 | Blog, Journal
When I was twelve years old, I discovered my mother’s old Kidsnatcher notebook in a pile of papers and books on her bedroom floor. The cheerful-looking binder with a swirly pattern contained a steady stream of correspondence mostly between moms and upper management in...
by C. A. Wittman | Aug 13, 2017 | Blog, Journal
Shortly after my father passed away from cancer in August of 2011, I turned to rigorous exercise as a stop-gap to stem the torrent of grief, which threatened to consume me. The shock that he was no longer of this world replayed itself in my mind on a daily basis. It...
