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The
Writing Machine existed from August 2005 to January 2008 as a place for
me to unload great writing sitting in my head and filing boxes for
years. During that time I posted almost 180 pieces of writing.
And just when the site really picked up, so did my life and I ran out
of time and energy to
keep up. But the site is still here so please... enjoy!
Thanks for reading The Writing Machine...
Christian
Stories About Growing Up in a Cult
Stories
about my life growing up in the cult, The Way International, are the
most requested on the site. To make them easier to find, I've compiled
them all below in order by the date
they posted.
Farts saved us from the boredom and oppression of Rome City. Rough draft from memoir project.
Thinking back on the days on how to save the Russians from communist captors.
What kind of a person sends a single mom and her boy on an assignment 1,100 miles across the country with way to get there, no money, and a huge guilt trip?
Search for your secret music.
Thanking Grease Spotters for their support, update on books, and what is happening in November.
We call him Stinky because he doesn't wipe his ass.
Hits from the bong before bed in high school lead to heightened geometry skills and paranoia.
Tales of Devil Spirits in the statues in the basement at Rome City send us kids down to see for ourselves.
The day I got the most wonderful and most dangerous Christmas gift.
About finding the dramatic question to a story by puking from too much whine.
Whining about the difficulty of writing a memoir about a painful life.
How the Devil go into my dreams.
Living with a looming prophecy can lead you to drink.
On Terrible Tuesday, April 10, 1979, an F4 sized tornado attacked Wichita Falls, Texas. But according to The Way, the devil did it.
The first day of fifteen years without my dad.
At the age of eight, in 1977, Rome City was a veritable carnival.
When cutting apples with a big knife, be careful what you wish for.
Climbing an old water tower on a 50 cent bet.
There were no memberships in The Way until you stepped on the school bus.
The next place will be better... I hope.
When the heat died in the school, classes were moved into the new gym.
The hope of the return and why you need to know how to speak in tongues.
When chewing was thought to be a safe alternative to smoking.
Remembering the first time I remembered something.
Decades of listening to the Power for Abundant Living class, but only graduating once.
Going from door to door with my mom talking to strangers about God.
The house with the fancy bathroom and the psychopath roommate.
Realizing my life would always be a like riding a bike with crooked handlebars.
A loose summary of The Way’s first and most important product, Power of Abundant Living; and The Way’s org chart, The Way Tree.
In the late '60s, Dr. Wierwille leaves Ohio and heads to California to recruit followers.
Looking for a memory not tagged with "The Way"
Remembering why to remember.
A high fever and talk of spirits bring on a hallucination.
The day I found out Santa isn't real.
I did it! I won NanoWriMo! The last excerpt from the NaNoWriMo writing introduces my final visit to the home of the commune I grew up in outside Rome City, Indiana. (Word count: 50,885)
The fantastic and frightening blizzard of '77. (Word count: 35,111)
Enter the Biblical Research Center, the soulless nexus of The Way. (Word count: 32,227)
An overdose, a promise to God, and a rescue. (Word count: 27,306)
How did I get here curled up on the floor? (Word count: 993)
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Stealing
Wings from an Angel
The Secret Curse Surrenders