Holy Hell: A Memoir of Faith, Devotion, and Pure Madness Author: Visit Amazon's Gail Tredwell Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0989679403 | Format: PDF
Holy Hell: A Memoir of Faith, Devotion, and Pure Madness Description
Review
"
Holy Hell is Gail Tredwell's captivating, inspiring, instructive story of why as a willing slave she endured her guru's cruelty, insults, hitting, kicking, and terrorizing for twenty years.
In spite of predictable retribution, Tredwell felt morally compelled to expose her guru's lies and her own complicity. Her brave, intelligent memoir is valuable for its depth and searing honesty--a gift to seekers vulnerable to similar widespread misconceptions about spirituality and the role of surrender."
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Joel Kramer & Diana Alstad, coauthors of The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power"Writing through the wise lens of hindsight, Tredwell weaves into her fascinating story of liberation from the depths of a modern-day cult, the hidden dangers of blind faith. Her insights drawn from years of personal experience render this book invaluable for individuals considering, or perhaps unaware they are already on, such a path."
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Steven Hassan, author of Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and BeliefsAbout the Author
For two decades Gail Tredwell lived in India and served as the personal attendant to Amma, commonly known as "The Hugging Saint." At the end of 1999, she made her daring break from the organization. After years of recovery, she is ready to share the inside story of ashram life and her unique perspective of this famous woman.
- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Wattle Tree Press (October 22, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0989679403
- ISBN-13: 978-0989679404
- Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
I was impressed by Gail Tredwell's writing, especially for a first book. Definitely better than expected based on some of the reviews I had read. It was quite descriptive and kept me engaged--I read it in a matter of hours.
But more importantly, it seemed like a genuine effort towards finding and communicating the truth. I like truth. I don't know what really went on at the M.A. Math although I was involved in a low key way for about 10 years at a U.S. M.A Center quite awhile back. I just knew to not get too involved, I could see there were things going on that I would not want to be involved with. I saw a lot of ego manifesting in many ways. I could see that despite Ammachi's powerful spiritual aura, there was a mythology being created around and about her. I did profoundly enjoy the music and the beautiful Indian ritual involving flower petals, oil lamps and camphor and most of all the love that seemed to radiate from Ammachi and the love and fellowship of the people who came to the events.
However, I had some experiences that eventually made me realize being involved with the M.A. Center was really not for me. A few of them vaguely echoed some of the experiences mentioned in Holy Hell, but for the most part I was not privy to the kinds of information and experience Gail was.
I heard from people who had gone to India years ago that some of Ammachi's relatives were building big palatial houses on the other side of the river and did not believe that her family's fishing business could have taken off to that extent. I would go into the question line and find that Ammachi did not know what was on my mind as we were told she did and would not understand the background information relating to my question, so would not answer it in a meaningful way.
Any time a book's reviews are largely 5-star or 1-star and not many in between, you know something is going on that's bigger than the book. In this case, Gail Tredwell's expose of her former guru has vindicated some and enraged others. In the book, Gail details her 20+ years of servitude to “Amma”, from her humble beginnings to the global multi-million dollar enterprise she now heads.
For those with a vested interest in the Amma organization, or those interested in guru-disciple relationships, this book will no doubt be very interesting (and salacious at times). I’m not sure the book would be of interest to the casual reader with no connection to the subject matter. My interest in the book comes from having a family member in the Amma organization. I was always slightly uneasy with the worship of one person as “God”. To please my family member, I have attended darshan on the tour several times, and have been discomfited by the dreamy devotees all in white, and the blatant money-making aspect of the tour. The book details what I know all too well, how Amma never gives straight answers to even simple questions, leaving the devotees to try to guess what a look or single word meant. The book does not mention that one of the popular items for sale on the tour is handmade Amma dolls, which devotees are encouraged to buy, sleep with, and talk to as if they are Amma herself. When you see a grown, professional, educated adult who you respect and admire cuddling and talking to a doll, you know something is going on that is not healthy.
The book details Amma’s physical and verbal abuse of Ms. Tredwell and other devotees, always behind closed doors, to preserve the loving image of Amma, The Holy Mother. Ms.
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