Rating:  Summary: the book is the fabrication of a sick person Review: This book, published in 1988, was shown to be almost entirely fabrication by an investigative report published in 1990 in the Christian magazine Cornerstone (copies of this article have circulated the net). The book was reissued in July 1991 by a different publisher: Pelican Publishing Co., a small Louisiana publisher. This new edition features cover blurbs from such people as Hal Lindsey and Johanna Michaelson (who helped get the book published in the first place, but who I thought accepted the Cornerstone criticisms) and Mike Warnke (whose claims of being a "former Satanist High Priest" have also been shown to be false by Cornerstone). What is most galling about the new edition of the book, however, is its afterword, by three Los Angeles clinical psychologists, all women sporting either an M.D. or Ph.D. after their names. The two-page afterword does not address *any* of the Cornerstone criticisms, but alludes to them by saying that (paraphrase) "some critics state that this book should not have been published unless every single fact within it could be verified and documented." It goes on to say how unreasonable these critics are, and that numerous other people have reported stories "like" Lauren Stratford's. I suspect that the "some critics" referred to do not exist; that no one has made any such claim about Stratford's book. The Cornerstone criticism thoroughly documented the fact that the book is almost entirely a fabrication by Laurel Wilson (the real name of "Lauren Stratford"), a very disturbed young woman whose story has changed radically over time. Surely both the publisher and these clinical psychologists must be aware of the details of these criticisms. To go ahead and republish the book is the height of irresponsibility.
Rating:  Summary: Who to believe? Review: You know, I am not sure if this book is true. I do know that SRA does happen, although how frequently or infrequently is anyone's guess. My brother-in-law was a Detroit cop for over 20 years, and he assures me that it happens. I also know about so called Christian organizations who take every opportunity to character assassinate anyone who believes differently than them. These same people who went after this author and her story also claim that Charismatic Christians are of the devil. Because we speak in tongues, God forbid! (see the book of Acts in the Bible).Give me a break. They also deliberately distort and falsify many of the "facts" that they present. And for that one reviewer who claims that the author would be in prison just for ADMITTING she had killed her baby, then WHY ISN'T SHE? SHE ADMITTED IT IN HER BOOK! Simply put, because the story sounds too crazy to be true. Yet how do we know it isn't????
|