Greetings! Maybe it’s silly to celebrate a book’s birthday, but this month we’re doing it anyway for Undertow. For the next 30 days, I’m offering seven FREE signed copies mailed FREE to the first seven (7) people with a USA address who request one. One copy for each year Undertow has been a book to read.
If you are new to this blog, Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International is my true story. It shows how easy it is to get seduced into a cult and how hard it is to get out.
At the end of this post, check out the slideshow of Undertow presentation photos. Those talks were a whirlwind for me as I shared my story, met many people, answered easy questions AND tough ones, and offered resources to help the public understand cults.
Besides giving those presentations, I’ve also written blog posts on the topic of cults and about fundamentalism—and also about traveling the world with my husband, as well as other interests I have. You can find all my posts under the Blog link at https://charleneedge.com.
Get your FREE copy of Undertow
Offer is good until November 30, 2023. Limit one per request.
This offer is available ONLY to USA addresses.
- Fill out the message form here → Contact.
- Include your snail mail address. I will never sell or give away this information.
- Tell me who the book is for so I can sign it, making it personal.
- I’ll mail you the book via media mail and email you the tracking number.
Undertow is sold at major booksellers. List price: paperback ($24.95), eBook ($9.99). Also order it at Indie bookstores and public libraries.
Hearty thanks to all who helped launch Undertow
From the bottom of my heart, I thank everyone who helped me with the manuscript and printed book. I owe you! Hoyt Edge, my gracious and supportive husband; Rachel and Adam Chase, my lovely daughter and son-in-law (Rachel also designed the New Wings Press, LLC logo); Mary Ann de Stefano and Alice Peck, Undertow’s extraordinary, knowledgeable, and kind editors (Mary Ann also designed my website); Duane Stapp, the book’s cover and interior designer; the late Ruth Mullen, my scrupulous copyeditor; and the many generous first readers whose feedback helped me improve the manuscript. Some of you are probably reading this post right now!
Thank you, Undertow readers
I also send a big thank you to appreciative Undertow readers, especially those who’ve messaged me through my Contact page. Many of you are former devotees of The Way International organization (that’s still in business) or were involved in an offshoot of The Way. I’m truly grateful for your support and openness to share your own stories with me. I welcome such messages. What author wouldn’t?
Undertow reviews, event photos & more
Over the years, I’ve given more than 20 in-person presentations about my cult story. It’s been an honor to do that every time, to say the least. Several invitations to speak came before I even published Undertow in November 2016. The event with the largest turnout was sponsored by the L.I.F.E. program (Learning Institute for Elders) at the University of Central Florida in 2018. About 450 people attended in the Pegasus Ballroom (photo below).
I’m now retired from giving public talks, but sometimes I share Undertow with students at nearby Rollins College, my alma mater.
Undertow REVIEWS
Reviews: ‘Undertow’ and ‘The Cult That Snapped’ | Two-Cult Survivor (wordpress.com)
From “The Snow Story” to “The Comment” | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com) (by a former devotee of The Way International)
Review of Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International (substack.com) (by a woman raised in an offshoot of The Way)
INTERVIEW – Two parts
American Studies Journal. Institute of English Studies and of the Zentraleinrichtung Moderne Sprachen (ZeMoS) at Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Germany.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Undertow on YouTube
CHARLENE L. EDGE –Author “A Cult Insider’s Story” – YouTube
PRAISE FOR Undertow
“In Undertow Charlene Edge has written a brilliant and engrossing warning to the future by dissecting the past. … What she exposes to bright liberating daylight is just how our political and religious worlds actually function based on the mesmerizing enticement of belonging to an ‘in-group.’” —Frank Schaeffer, author of Crazy For God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back and New York Times best-selling author of Keeping Faith
More Praise for Undertow | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
Undertow events slideshow
Click the first photo to begin the slideshow.
Thanks for reading!
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
Nylda Dieppa
Congratulations, Charlene! Undertow is a work of love and courage, a warning sign, and an opportunity for healing. An important contribution to humanity.
Charlene L. Edge
Probably the person who received the most healing from this project was/is yours truly. Thanks for your support.
Lynne Whelden
Congratulations on seven years of very hard work! It reminds me of my own years of promoting a documentary I made on the Appalachian Trail (Five Million Steps 1987). No social media, buying tiny 1” ads in the back of magazines for $125, writing letters to top 100 newspapers (and scoring with NJ Ledger at #16). I can feel your exhaustion!
God’s already written up your Welcome Home speech and it begins with “Well done good and faithful servant!”
Lynne
Charlene L. Edge
Having a project sure keeps a person on their toes and engaged with others one way or another. Thanks for sharing a little about yours.