Finding hope in a hidden journey
For three years Brenda Lee kept her childhood diary wrapped in plastic and stuck in a log in the woods outside of her home, so that her older sister and mother could not break the book’s lock to discover the secret thoughts of a girl growing up in a particular religious community.
Decades later, Lee still has the small blue book with yellowed and stiff pages covered in the round writing of a 12-year-old girl. It sat on her kitchen table next to a second book, “Out of the Cocoon,” the memoir she wrote of her childhood in a strict Jehovah Witness community and subsequent escape to Colorado.
Brenda Lee is one of several women featured in the documentary, Secret Lives Of Women:Cults – 1 of 5. Additional parts.Lee’s story is featured in a WE channel documentary, “Secret lives of women: Cults,” which first aired in September.
[…]A few weeks before her high school graduation, Lee ran away from the compound and stayed with a friend’s family.
[…]Lee decided to write her memoir for her son, who is now a music major at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
[…]She called her memoir a warning about the susceptibility of people to cults and other similar organizations.
[…]Brenda Lee’s purpose is to inform and educate the public about cult involvement in communities across the world.
She offers free seminars to anyone who has been involved with a co-dependent cult, as well as anyone simply interested in learning more about them.
Her seminars are available for any number of people, or anyone involved with organizations such as churches, colleges, high schools, activity groups or book clubs.
During her seminars, Brenda briefly shares her life story, and addresses topics such as how to identify toxic organizations, the eight points of mind control and who is most at risk of joining a destructive group. She will also answer any questions people may have, provide handouts.
To learn more about these seminars, when and where to attend, or how to get involved, or to read more about her book, contact Brenda Lee through her Web site at www.OutOfTheCocoon.net.
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See Also
• Cult Definition: What is a cult?
• Cult FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about cults
• Who joins cults, and why?
• Coming out of the cults