After this, I would like to post a review of Barb Orlowski's new book, "Spiritual Abuse Recovery: Dynamic Research on Finding a Place of Wholeness." I hope that many will read the book and to take a look at her website at www.churchexiters.com. (I was one of the participants in her project, so it is exciting for me to see the book finally in print!)
Cheryl Schatz discussed the book on her website a number of weeks ago, and I encourage the reader here to read what Cheryl wrote about the book and how helpful the author was in a church abuse situation she was involved with some time ago. I encourage you to read Cheryl's post.
Last but not least, I would like to encourage people to visit the new website for the Take Heart Project that Vyckie Garrison and other participants at the No Longer Quivering Blog have put together. Vyckie is holding a "Blogathon" to raise funds as she finishes her book and to promote the new project.
From the Take Heart Project website:
The Take Heart Project is spearheaded by a group of women who, while exchanging thoughts on Vyckie Garrison's No Longer Quivering discussion forums, noticed a disturbing lack of psychological, legal and shelter services geared specifically toward women attempting to exit their oppressive religious and patriarchally controlled lives with five, ten or even more children to care for.
These women, some having already struggled through the exiting process completely on their own, have gathered together to volunteer their myriad of skills, insights and sheer determination to see that any woman's dream of personal freedom is not further hampered by the size of her family nor by a lack of understanding of the dynamics of spiritual abuse.
By becoming a charity, we will be able to take donations to help women and girls who wish to leave patriarchal religious groups, and provide them with understanding and safe harbor.
We will also be able to develop a network of health and legal professionals and educate them in the particulars of the QF/P philosophy and lifestyle, thus enabling them to help these women through the difficulties of leaving and establishing a new life.
I must say that I had hoped that something like this would have come from a ministry in the Church, but I am thrilled to see it happen, no matter who is offering comfort and help to those who leave spiritually abusive patriarchy. I'm especially excited to see that non-coercive care for women and adult daughters in particular has been listed as one of the primary objectives, eventually helping them with the practical matters involved when leaving some of these homes. Countering the bounded choice when leaving can be difficult enough, but the logistics of actually leaving when you don't have a driver's license or perhaps even a birth certificate or a social security number make it all that more stressful. A young woman might be well into the age of adulthood, but the paternalism of the system in some patriarchal homes makes leaving nearly impossible unless you have a family member to take you in. It breaks my heart. So I am thrilled to see this come together and I encourage others to support the effort.
(If you are concerned about women being pointed in the wrong direction from a religious perspective, then I encourage you to offer to volunteer with the project to serve as a resource for the project!)
(I typed this directly into Blogger, so I don't know what's up with this formatting!)
