The views expressed in ICSA Today are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the views of ICSA Today’s editors or editorial boards or of ICSA’s directors, advisors, or staff. Groups
analyzed or mentioned in ICSA Today are not necessarily cults, nor are they necessarily harmful.
ICSA Today, Volume 7, No. 2, 2016
Editor-in-Chief
Michael D. Langone, PhD
Associate Editor
Ann Stamler, MA, MPhil
Arts Editor
Diana Pletts, MA
Family Editor
Lois Svoboda, MD, LMFT
Member Profiles Editor
Mary O’Connell
Mental Health Editor
Gillie Jenkinson, MA
Research Coeditors
Linda Dubrow-Marshall, PhD
Rod Dubrow-Marshall, PhD
Point of View -Q&A
William Goldberg, MSW, LCSW
Correspondents
Austria/Germany
Friedrich Griess
Eastern Europe
Piotr T. Nowakowski, PhD
French-Speaking Countries
Guillaume Garih, BA, LLL, JD
Italy
Dr. Cristina Caparesi
Dr. Raffaella Di Marzio
Nordic Countries
Noomi Andemark
Joni Valkila, PhD
Hilde Langvann
Håkan Järvå, MSc Psych
Spain and Latin America
Luis Santamaria, SThL
Erika Toren, MSEd
News Desk
Ana Rodriguez
Editorial Board
Writing Consultant
Sharon Hamm
Bios of ICSA Today editors can be found at
icsahome.com/elibrary/peopleprofiles
International Cultic Studies Association
P.O. Box 2265 • Bonita Springs, FL 34133
Website: icsahome.com
Email: mail@icsamail.com
Phone: 239.514.3081
Fax: 305.393.8193
ISSN: 2154-820X
Printed in the USA
Artists and poets retain copyright
of their works and grant ICSA permission
to reproduce them. Unless otherwise
indicated, all other material copyright
International Cultic Studies Association.
Table of Contents
Note to our readers regarding website addresses (URLs): For all http website addresses, such as
http://www.icsahome.com, ICSA Today uses only the shortened address form without the http
(icsahome.com). In all instances when the basic address is other than http, such as https or ftp,
we give the full address. Please keep this in mind when exploring sites mentioned in ICSA Today.
On the cover: Katharina
Meredith, Hummingbird (acrylic on
canvas). “I think all my art reflects my
cult experience and recovery, some
of it simply because I want there to
be beauty—much, much beauty—
because sometimes it is exhausting
working in this field, trying to raise
awareness.”
20
Book Review
Joe Szimhart
15
Why I Had to Escape a
Fundamentalist Cult
Charlene L. Edge
6
Inside the Walls of a Libertarian
Ideology
Flávio Amaral
28
News Desk
10
Info-Cult at 35: Observations,
Insights, and Lessons Learned
Michael Kropveld
18
Arts and Poetry
Katharina Meredith
2
Groucho Marx and Cult Recovery
Michael D. Langone
24
Correspondents’ Reports
22
Profile On...
Alex Gawkins
the views of ICSA Today’s editors or editorial boards or of ICSA’s directors, advisors, or staff. Groups
analyzed or mentioned in ICSA Today are not necessarily cults, nor are they necessarily harmful.
ICSA Today, Volume 7, No. 2, 2016
Editor-in-Chief
Michael D. Langone, PhD
Associate Editor
Ann Stamler, MA, MPhil
Arts Editor
Diana Pletts, MA
Family Editor
Lois Svoboda, MD, LMFT
Member Profiles Editor
Mary O’Connell
Mental Health Editor
Gillie Jenkinson, MA
Research Coeditors
Linda Dubrow-Marshall, PhD
Rod Dubrow-Marshall, PhD
Point of View -Q&A
William Goldberg, MSW, LCSW
Correspondents
Austria/Germany
Friedrich Griess
Eastern Europe
Piotr T. Nowakowski, PhD
French-Speaking Countries
Guillaume Garih, BA, LLL, JD
Italy
Dr. Cristina Caparesi
Dr. Raffaella Di Marzio
Nordic Countries
Noomi Andemark
Joni Valkila, PhD
Hilde Langvann
Håkan Järvå, MSc Psych
Spain and Latin America
Luis Santamaria, SThL
Erika Toren, MSEd
News Desk
Ana Rodriguez
Editorial Board
Writing Consultant
Sharon Hamm
Bios of ICSA Today editors can be found at
icsahome.com/elibrary/peopleprofiles
International Cultic Studies Association
P.O. Box 2265 • Bonita Springs, FL 34133
Website: icsahome.com
Email: mail@icsamail.com
Phone: 239.514.3081
Fax: 305.393.8193
ISSN: 2154-820X
Printed in the USA
Artists and poets retain copyright
of their works and grant ICSA permission
to reproduce them. Unless otherwise
indicated, all other material copyright
International Cultic Studies Association.
Table of Contents
Note to our readers regarding website addresses (URLs): For all http website addresses, such as
http://www.icsahome.com, ICSA Today uses only the shortened address form without the http
(icsahome.com). In all instances when the basic address is other than http, such as https or ftp,
we give the full address. Please keep this in mind when exploring sites mentioned in ICSA Today.
On the cover: Katharina
Meredith, Hummingbird (acrylic on
canvas). “I think all my art reflects my
cult experience and recovery, some
of it simply because I want there to
be beauty—much, much beauty—
because sometimes it is exhausting
working in this field, trying to raise
awareness.”
20
Book Review
Joe Szimhart
15
Why I Had to Escape a
Fundamentalist Cult
Charlene L. Edge
6
Inside the Walls of a Libertarian
Ideology
Flávio Amaral
28
News Desk
10
Info-Cult at 35: Observations,
Insights, and Lessons Learned
Michael Kropveld
18
Arts and Poetry
Katharina Meredith
2
Groucho Marx and Cult Recovery
Michael D. Langone
24
Correspondents’ Reports
22
Profile On...
Alex Gawkins
