Published: Aug. 14, 2012
Words: 11,049 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781476287508

Short description

In Passing for Normal Carl invites you into the mind of an unwitting cult member. With a series of short stories and scenes, he takes you on a journey through the early years of that child’s life, from birth to escape. The point of view ages with the boy, giving the reader a candid insight into what life was really like in the 1980s and 90s as a second-generation member of The Family International

Extended description

In Passing for Normal Carl invites you into the mind of an unwitting cult member. With a series of short stories and scenes, he takes you on a journey through the early years of that child’s life, from birth to escape. The point of view ages with the boy, giving the reader a candid insight into what life was really like in the 1980s and 90s as a second-generation member of The Family International.

From the childish bliss in The Book of Innocence, to the disquieting aberrations in The Books of Lessons and Misgivings, to the dilemmas
and stoicism in The Books of Resolve and Backsliding, Passing for Normal is a rollercoaster of joy, sadness, revulsion, outrage and ultimately joy again. Comic relief is sprinkled throughout by the hilarity with which he describes the absurdity of many of the cult’s beliefs and practices.

About the Author:
Carl Asher was born and raised within the isolation of The Family International. Kept segregated from all outside influences as a child, such as .. (Read more) In Passing for Normal Carl invites you into the mind of an unwitting cult member. With a series of short stories and scenes, he takes you on a journey through the early years of that child’s life, from birth to escape. The point of view ages with the boy, giving the reader a candid insight into what life was really like in the 1980s and 90s as a second-generation member of The Family International.

From the childish bliss in The Book of Innocence, to the disquieting aberrations in The Books of Lessons and Misgivings, to the dilemmas
and stoicism in The Books of Resolve and Backsliding, Passing for Normal is a rollercoaster of joy, sadness, revulsion, outrage and ultimately joy again. Comic relief is sprinkled throughout by the hilarity with which he describes the absurdity of many of the cult’s beliefs and practices.

About the Author:
Carl Asher was born and raised within the isolation of The Family International. Kept segregated from all outside influences as a child, such as music, movies and books, he longed for escape. The secret discovery of George Orwell’s 1984 fueled his desire for literary contraband, and his admiration of such authors as a result drove his passion to become an author himself.
(Less)

Tags

love, horror, poetry, child abuse, psychology, religion, christianity, emotional, memoir, cult, mormon, poems, horrific, child, philosophy, rhyme, sadness, anthropology, taboo, biography, theology, antichrist, weird, autobiography, poetic, christian, abuse, joy, culture, true story, child psychology, bliss, uplifting, peculiar, abandonment, hippy, ballad, dirt, grandpa, jesus freaks, secrecy, emotive, exposure, the family, expose, whistle blower, exposed, antichristian, mo, children of god, tfi, the family international, david berg, mama maria, karen zerby, moses david

Available ebook reading formats

Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.

Format	Full Book	Sample First 20%
Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser)	Buy	View sample
Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps)	Buy	Download sample
Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others)	Buy	Download sample
PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing)	Buy	No sample available
RTF (readable on most word processors)	Buy	No sample available
LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub)	Buy	Download sample
Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices)	Buy	Download sample
Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Buy	No sample available
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Videos

Passing for Normal - YouTube Trailer
Note that this trailer makes the book seem a little more grim than it actually is. The book deals frankly and openly with the aberrant lifestyle which was ours, but it doesn't dwell on the negative; the stoicism I, like my many peers, had to nurture in order to survive and ultimately escape, will uplift instead of depress.

Reviews

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Review by: Blair Benson on Sep. 03, 2012 :
I don't usually read poetry, but the way Carl uses it to tell his stories is just perfect. Sometimes enchanting, sometimes horrific, I was hooked, straight through to the end.
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Reason for report:
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