About the Author

I was a member of a religious cult, the Trinity Foundation, for seven years and worked for the Trinity Foundation publication, The Wittenberg Door, the “world’s only religious satire magazine,” from 1998-2000. As a Christian who was raised in the mainstream Southern Baptist denomination, who has earned an undergraduate degree in Sociology and a master’s degree in Religious Education from one of the world’s foremost Protestant seminaries—Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary—and who has worked in the mental health field for twenty years, I should have been the last person to join a cult! Since renouncing my membership in the Trinity Foundation, I have been on a quest to understand the dynamics of my involvement in this spiritually abusive group. By reading numerous books on cults, interviewing former members, reviewing my personal journal entries, and the e-mail exchanges my husband and I had during the first two years after we left the Trinity Foundation, I have obtained some insight into how individuals become involved in religiously abusive groups or cults and what they need to do in order to transition out of a controlling, authoritarian organization. I Can’t Hear God Anymore: Life in a Dallas Cult was written for all the former members of this group and groups like it who have lost their way. I pray they will find hope and inspiration from my story, and learn that, even after being involved in an abusive religious cult, there is a way back to psychological health, freedom, happiness, and, ultimately, even a way back to God. Wendy J. Duncan
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I Can't Hear God Anymore
Written in first person, I Can’t Hear God Anymore: Life in a Dallas Cult chronicles the experiences of the author and her husband who became members of a religious cult and finally, years later, were able to leave after recognizing the deception. The book describes the couple’s individual vulnerabilities and the spiritual and emotional manipulations that were used to keep them bound to the group. The author then examines the struggle that occurs with leaving a cult and starting a new life of faith. I Can’t Hear God Anymore addresses the issues that face former members after they leave a cult, and how they can find their way back to spiritual and psychological health. The author covers the loss of one’s identity and purpose, the intense loneliness, and the fear that God has abandoned them. Though the focus is primarily on the author and her husband, there will be stories related by other former members of this same religious group. The author explores the clever workings of a charismatic cult leader and the manipulative techniques that were used. She also discusses how individuals can find their way back to spiritual and psychological health. In our society, we are careful to teach and learn about sexual harassment and abuse so that lives are not ruined. Just as importantly, we must warn others of the dangers of religious abuse.
Author's Note: My hope is that this book, I Can’t Hear God Anymore: Life in a Dallas Cult, can provide spiritual healing to former members of cults and help others understand how “normal” people can get caught up in cult-like groups. This story can prevent others from falling into the grip of a religious cult, and encourage those who are involved in one to have the courage to leave. In our society, we are careful to teach and learn about sexual harassment and abuse so that lives are not ruined. Just as importantly, we must warn others of the dangers of religious abuse.