penworks
-
Posts
1,068 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
90
penworks's Achievements
About Me
UPDATED 02-25-2024
Hello! I was involved with The Way International (1970-1987). As of 2002, my name is Charlene Lamy Edge, author of the award-winning memoir:
Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International. This is my very personal story about 17 years in The Way. Undertow was published in 2017. It's available at major booksellers in paperback and ebook.
READ ABOUT UNDERTOW. Click HERE.
***Things to consider when reading an ex-Way person's story: Speaking of "Way" stories (charleneedge.blogspot.com)
Who was I while in The Way?
I was known as Charlene Lamy then Charlene Bishop, married to Tim Bishop who was from the Rye, NY fellowship during the early 1970s. We both graduated from the second Way Corps in 1973 and were married the next day. Tim was ordained by Wierwille in 1974. We served as leaders throughout California and Florida.
I was a member of The Way's Biblical Research Team, assisting on the Aramaic projects.
How was I recruited?
In 1970, college students at East Carolina University, grads of Wierwille's bible class Power for Abundant Living, recruited me to The Way. I dropped out of college and gave The Way the next 17 years of my life.
Later in life I earned a B.A. in English Literature at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL.
I worked on the Aramaic project at The Way HQ in New Knoxville, Ohio
From August 1984 to August 1986, I worked on the Biblical Research Team at Way headquarters in Ohio, specifically on the Aramaic Concordance project. Rev. Walter Cummins was my boss.
In Nov. 2016, I published my memoir, Undertow, that depicts my recruitment to The Way at the ECU fellowship, my two-year Way Corps training, how I was trained in Biblical research, and how I eventually found a way to escape Way Headquarters in 1986.
By the time I escaped, V.P. Wierwille was dead (May, 1985), Craig Martindale was president, and Chris Geer was trying to take over the organization. Chaos at Way HQ ruled the day.
FREE first chapter of my true story, Undertow, is on my website http://charleneedge.com.
FREE PDF file at the bottom of this page that offers the story behind Undertow in "Dear Rachel: This is How."
FREE PDF file also at the bottom of this page that shows how and why TWI is fundamentalist and a cult.
Youtube:
My most recent book: From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life. Published March 23, 2022. Iin paperback and ebook at all major booksellers and at Indie bookstores like Powell's Books.
Below is The Author Salon event (May 17, 2022) for this book held at my local library:
Why am I at GSC?
By posting on GSC I hope to make a positive difference in the lives of people hurt by Victor Paul Wierwille's doctrines and behavior, and other leaders or members' behaviors resulting from controlling, abusive, and fundamentalist beliefs.
Among other things, my memoir, Undertow, offers evidence of Wierwille's cavalier plagiarism, sexual predator activities, and emotional abuse of his followers.
MY WEBSITE: https://charleneedge.com.
FREE: "Chapter One: Hiding in Plain Sight" from my book Undertow. To get it, go to http://charleneedge.com.
Subscribe to my blog posts or search for ones that are stored there under Blog Categories. I write about world travels, fundamentalism, cults, the writing life, and more.
Example blog post: Charlene’s Post-Cult Nonreligious Alternative | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
Some of my cult posts are here: Charlene Lamy Edge Speaks about The Way International (charleneedge.blogspot.com)
A few more things
I am a member of the International Cultic Studies Association, The Florida Writer Association, and The Authors Guild.
I'm not on Facebook, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Tik Tok, or Instagram. I am on Goodreads.
Thanks for reading my profile!
"If we claim only reasonable probability, it will be as much as men who love the truth can ever at any given moment hope to have within their grasp." ~William James, Varieties of Religious Experience