Welcome!

Since closing my private practice as a psychotherapist, I am now concentrating on writing books to help anyone caught in high-control environments, situations or groups – such as cults – as I was for the first thirty years of my life.

It is my goal to offer a variety of resources to help with the daring act of exiting from a coercive, controlling milieu, and to help heal the psychological and emotional wounds that result as a consequence of being subjected to: repression, manipulation, exploitation, and shunning by family and friends.

If you are recovering from being the victim of a high-demand, coercive environment, this site is designed to help you manage and heal from the many negative effects of having your life co-opted and controlled. You will access a variety of resources to help you learn how to care for yourself during the challenging period of reclaiming your mind and rebuilding your life. Do navigate the site and see if there are resources here that are right for you. New resources and information are added on a regular basis.

I’m happy to announce that I have written a novel, entitled NOBODY’S THRALL, based on a fictional congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and set in New England, in 1998.

It features complex characters who are struggling to exercise their right to self-determination. The plot is full of suspense, twists, and surprising turns. The book parachutes readers into the repressive, rule-filled, life-obliterating organization and one of its congregations that is unprepared for the shocking events about to knock them off their feet. In reading the story, ex-JWs will be reminded of all they endured and affirmed for the courage they mustered to leave. Non-JWs will experience an eye-opening glimpse into the secretive theocratic and patriarchal system that exercises undue control over its membership. Beyond all that is a compelling story of good people fighting against years of indoctrination and constant scrutiny for the simple right to be autonomous and free. Click on the image to read the description on Amazon or on https://books.by/bonniezieman.

“SHUNNED: A Survival Guide” is also available on Amazon or at https://books.by/bonniezieman.

If you have tried to fast-track your recovery from high-control abuses by going into therapy, only to find that the therapist does not really understand what you experienced in the cult or how challenging it is to rebuild your independent self and life, check out my book, “Cracking the Cult Code for Therapists“. This book has also proved to be a great way to help family and friends who have no knowledge of cults to understand what you are dealing with.

Check out the “Look Inside” option on Amazon in order to see the Table of Contents and read a few of the opening pages, by clicking HERE. Or, if you prefer not to shop at Amazon, here: https://books.by/bonniezieman

Thank you for visiting. Hope to see you back here soon!     Bonnie