Lessons in Evil, Lessons from the Light: A True Story of Satanic Abuse and Spiritual Healing

An account of one woman's victimization describes how, from the age of two until she was a teenager, the woman suffered at the hands of a satanic cult whose crimes (which she witnessed) included rape, mutilation, and infanticide. 40,000 first printing. Tour.

The clinical process by which a therapist, whose clients were primarily sexual abuse survivors, entered into a clinical relationship with a victim of satanic abuse unfolds in chilling detail in this account of the healing process. The victim, Barbara, a young professional African American with suicidal tendencies, began a series of hypnosis treatments under the guidance of Feldman, a New Mexico psychologist. Shocking revelations--scenes of sexual abasement, incest, infanticide--surfaced, all part of the young girl's training to become a satanic "princess" in a family blood cult evoked through hypnotic childhood regression. As Barbara's cruel saga develops, it impinges on the therapist's personal and professional life as well, propelling Feldman on an interdisciplinary quest through religion, anthropology and criminal law for corroboration, and mitigation of her doubts about the existence of satanism. A harrowing tale of evil, and the story of a breakthrough accomplished with nontraditional counseling, this book allows the general reader to glimpse evil.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A shallow account of how Feldman (Psychology/University of New Mexico) cured a victim of satanic sex abuse through hypnosis and New Age methods. Feldman has a new patient, ``Barbara,'' who can't enjoy sex, feels fat, and would like to commit suicide. After convincing Barbara that her problem is childhood sex abuse, Feldman hypnotizes her, and the patient--as well as the reader--is funneled into a tedious Theater of Cruelty. When Barbara says that she feels dirty, for instance, Feldman puts her under, and the woman remembers a cult ritual in which she had to stay in a dark hole for five days. During her next session, Barbara says that she can't stand the color white, and Feldman's probing reveals that, as a girl, Barbara was forced to wear all white while the cult put a snake into her vagina. More memories follow- -of infanticide and cannibalism; multiple forced fellatio; coprophilia; castrations; children in cages; the removal and devouring of beating hearts--all relived on the page in a tortuous crawl until Feldman gets so upset with the abuse of Barbara by her father and his cult that she berates her own husband: ``What are you going to do about this male abuse of power...the least you could is join a men's group!'' Help for the author comes when a New Ager regresses her to a past life. Impressed, Feldman regresses Barbara into one of her past lives, from which the patient returns symptom-free--no anxiety or tenseness, no smoking or drinking--and able to have sex with her husband five days a week. ``Isn't it amazing how your outlook changes when you've experienced eternity?'' Feldman and Barbara chuckle together. A dull and unconvincing rendering that has no place on the bookshelf next to Georges Bataille, J. K. Huysmans, or even Arthur Lyons (Satan Wants You, 1988). -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Psychologist and hypnotherapist Feldman records, in heart-wrenching detail, the story of Barbara, a young woman who as a child was the victim of ritual satanic abuse at the hands of a sect led by her own grandfather. While Barbara's recollections are shocking and sometimes almost unbelievable, her story is that of a survivor, and she offers hope of recovery for other victims. The book's foreword gives a brief history of satanic practice, and the extensive bibliography serves as a thorough reading list. This book is one of the first studies providing deep insight into a horrifying segment of contemporary society. Recommended for academic and large public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/93.
- Barbara L. Flynn, Park Forest P.L., Ill.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.