Whispering in the Daylight
eBook - ePub

Whispering in the Daylight

The Children of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and Their Journey to Freedom

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Whispering in the Daylight

The Children of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and Their Journey to Freedom

About this book

Beginning in the 1960s in California, erstwhile music producer Tony Alamo became interested in authoritarian religion and, along with his charismatic wife, Susan, began gathering followers. By the 1970s, Tony Alamo Christian Ministries had established particularly strong footholds in Arkansas, as well as maintaining outposts in California. The ministry gained a legion of followers, with branches not only in the USA but in places as diverse as Africa and Sri Lanka. Even through their leader’s eventual imprisonment under federal charges (related to transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes), Alamo’s vision survived—and his community survives him today.

Whispering in the Daylight: The Children of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and Their Journey to Freedom is based on numerous interviews from group members and, more importantly, on interviews with the children—second and third-generation followers. Author Debby Schriver chronicles how this group was formed, documenting its many abuses and its gradual adoption of cult-like behaviors and practices. Like many cult leaders, Tony Alamo had different faces. The public saw him as a somewhat self-important but harmless music promoter and designer of bedazzling denim jackets. Schriver chronicles firsthand the condemnation, rejection, and torment that the second-generation survivors of Tony Alamo’s abuses experienced. Schriver’s interviews, particularly those with children, illuminate the real horrors of the Alamos’ behavior, ranging from economic exploitation, extreme forced fasts, and beatings, that resulted in permanent injury.

Schriver’s extensive research—including interviews with Tony Alamo himself, harrowing visits to Alamo compounds, and witnessing gut-wrenching confrontations between freed children and their unreformed parents—tells the story of a closed group whose origins and history are unlikely ever to be definitively unraveled.

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Yes, you can access Whispering in the Daylight by Debby Schriver in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & Christian Denominations. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Illustrations
  7. Note to the Reader
  8. Prologue. Saturday, September 20, 2008
  9. The Early Years
  10. 1975–1982
  11. 1982–2000
  12. 2000–2008
  13. 2009–2017
  14. Afterword
  15. Acknowledgments
  16. Appendix 1. Dangerous Traits of Cult Leaders
  17. Appendix 2. The Author’s Interviews with Tony Alamo
  18. Appendix 3. Tony Alamo’s Wives
  19. Appendix 4. Reflections by Randall Harris, Lead FBI Agent on Case
  20. Appendix 5. Expressions
  21. Selected Bibliography
  22. Index