Glimpses of the Devil : A True Story of Evil, Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption

Rating:
Summary: compelling exploration of whether evil entities exist.
Review: I stayed and read the first half of this well-thought-out (and to me, shocking) book before even leaving the coffee-shop at Borders. Dr. Peck carves out accessible spots for the lay reader to better understand three complex, troubling and not well codified or discussed areas: 1) psychiatric identification of clients who might be possessed and treatable by exorcism, 2) dynamics of team leadership during an exorcism, and 3) referrals for psychotherapy or psychiatric follow-up after an exorcism has been performed. While alternative analyses abound, he makes a compelling case for the clarity of his approach and analyses in these two cases.
I liked the fact that Dr. Peck continually stresses the rarity of the subject situations he encountered over 25 years or practice. He did not spend much time on the structure of the traditional Catholic rite of exorcism itself (which comprises the format of the two exorcisms about which he writes) and took some measures to protect the privacy and rights of the patients involved and their families. I think he does a good job in this short book (288 pp.) of moving back and forth from a cross-cultural historical exploration of the issues relating to exorcism, to a psychiatric assessment of possible alternative explanations for client behaviors and of issues in psychiatric diagnoses. He details two cases here and follows each with a post-session critique of his casework. This book continues Dr. Peck's earlier focus on unraveling the presence of and efficacy of one or more "lies" in treatable patients: lies we tell others and/or tell ourselves.
Peck does write as an outsider to the Catholic Church, and he was limited by time and by understanding in his ability to explore Church resources, or to explore the theological framing of issues around exorcism. I think he does make a strong and convincing case for the presence of, and influence of, evil in the world. Casual readers and psycotherapists might both wish there were more back-stories or concrete "facts" to these cases, and lay readers may better enjoy other authors' more detailed narratives or introductory/ secondary sources. Nevertheless, I think Peck sheds light on an obscured and difficult topic. Readers with an interest in, or understanding of, psychiatric treatment, comparative religion, New age cult deprogramming, ecclesiastic hierarchy, teleology and/or ethics may find Dr. Peck's perspective and this book very interesting.