Unbreakable Spirit: 18 Stories of Feminine Resilience, Blessings and Renewal



Greetings, readers! Today I share great joy over my daughter, Rachel Chase, having her autobiographical story published. It appears as a chapter in the anthology, Unbreakable Spirit: 18 Stories of Feminine Resilience,Blessings and Renewal. (Laura Joan Cornell. Ananda Press. July 17, 2025.)

This is a beautiful book full of wisdom borne from women's trials that turned to healing when they chose a different path—a path towards light, love, and creativity.

Rachel's story

Some of you know I spent many years as a leader and Biblical researcher in a fundamentalist cult, The Way International™. I wrote and published my memoir, Undertow, that tells that story. Rachel was born while our family was enmeshed in that cult. In 1987 when we escaped its headquarters in New Knoxville, Ohio, Rachel was only twelve years old.

In Rachel's story, included in Unbreakable Spirit, she describes that part of her life, the confusion that followed after we escaped, and her journey to wholeness. Not only did she recover from serious traumas, she flourishes as a dynamic counselor and healer. I'm profoundly proud of her.

My review on Amazon

The book is available in paperback and eBook on Amazon. Here's my review there:

I admire these women authors for their courage in sharing their very personal—and often traumatic—journeys towards a more fruitful life. Their autobiographical accounts in Unbreakable Spirit are profound testaments to the resiliency and power of the human spirit. Many show how resiliency sprang from consciously using the breath—a powerful skill—which brought peace and healing. Often these women learned this from yoga and meditation. We see how it was essential in their recovery from an array of illnesses, fears, and ordeals. As one author puts it, she decided to ‘breathe on’ every little thing: “I knew I needed to learn how to deal better with my stressful emotions, so I did this intensely for the whole year.”

Their resilience, too, inspired my heart as I read how their lives took dramatic, often harrowing, turns, yet they worked through it all. One author says she realized “resilience wasn’t something to chase but something to embody, moment by moment, breath by breath.” I’m struck by the bravery these women mustered with open hearts, how it led them into their current creative lives. Another author shares that “Reiki, meditation, art making, and yoga practice help me find my intuition and trust in myself. Now I can be adventurous in a grounded way. Now I can see and follow the Universe’s clues on a path to wholeness.” Stories can teach and inspire us, move us to aim ourselves towards more wholeness and love. The stories in this book do that.

END

Thanks for reading!

Charlene

CHARLENE L. EDGE spent 17 years (1970-1987) in The Way as a leader and Biblical researcher. After escaping the cult, she earned a B.A. in English from Rollins College and worked for more than a decade as a writer in the software industry.

A member of the Florida Writers Association, the Authors Guild, and the International Cultic Studies Association, Edge is also a prize-winning poet. She lives in Florida with her husband, Hoyt L. Edge, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy.

Her latest book is From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life (New Wings Press, LLC. 2022). Both books are sold online in paperback and eBook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.

Her member page at The Author's Guild is here: Profile - Charlene L. Edge - The Authors Guild

 


Comments

New comments are not allowed.

Popular posts from this blog

What Is Memoir?

Image
Greetings, readers! Are you interested in writing your life story? Or have you ever just wondered what the difference is between autobiography and memoir? The short answer is that autobiography tells a person's lifetime story. A memoir focuses on a slice of that lifetime.  Here's a few specifics on memoir that I've shared at presentations I've given about the art of writing memoir. I learned these things before and during writing my own memoir, Undertow . What is memoir?  1. It's a personal investigation: your blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights.  “… the memoir writer takes us back to some corner of his or her past that was unusually intense childhood, for instance or that was framed by war or some other upheaval.” (i.e. Russell Baker’s Growing Up). From  On Writing Well, by William Zinsser 2. It's about a specific time of your life. “It’s an act of writing frozen in a unique time and place.” ~ Zinsser 3. It's a narrative of “then.” “Think narrow, the...
Read more

From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life

Image
Greetings, readers. Welcome to my new blog, "Charlene Lamy Edge Speaks about Writing." This is the first official post. Today, I want to be sure you know I published a guidebook for the writing life. It came out in 2022, five years after I published my first book,  Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International . From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life   is not only about the writing life and craft, it also offers some of my original work, such as 25 of my poems.  I've nicknamed this book PORCH. It's available at major online booksellers in paperback and eBook. It can be ordered by Indie bookstores and public libraries, too, just like Undertow can. What is PORCH all about? Beginning with “Readers Become Writers” and ending with “If You Want to Keep Writing,” Edge’s encouraging and gentle book highlights the vistas, detours, and delights on the writing path, along with truths we can all apply to poetry, prose...
Read more

Charlene L. Edge: Bio

Image
Charlene Edge grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in a Roman Catholic family during the 1950s and 1960s. At college in 1970, fellow students recruited her into The Way International, a Bible-based cult. She became a leader and biblical researcher in The Way, but after she discovered what The Way really was, she escaped its headquarters in 1987. Charlene's books Charlene Edge is the author of two books. Her award-winning memoir titled,  Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International  (2017) and ... From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life  (2022). It includes:  More than thirty essays on the writing life and craft Charlene’s short stories and poems illustrating essay topics Nourishing insights from well-known authors and poets Recommended books for writing memoir, poetry, fiction, and travel stories She launched  From the Porch to the Page  at the Winter Park ...
Read more