The Asylum Confessions: Cults (The Asylum Confession Files, #4)

by Jack Steen

Ministers, preachers, and those who stood behind pulpits were the worst sinners. I'm sure they still are. All those you see on the television, they're liars. The harder they preach against sin, the darker their own hearts are.

1 John 4:4. Do you know that one? Little children, you are from God and have overcome, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

People don't mind being blind sheep when the benefits are theirs for the taking.

Every lie is steeped in a truth. Every story, every scenario, every secret has a kernel of truth to it - surely, you, of all people, know that.

We have these pretend lives we daydream about and wish we could live. Sometimes we focus so much on those dreams, we stop living in the moment, in the lives we actually have.

Whenever something that is a common household good goes on sale, Mom buys as much of it as she can. Her basement is full of laundry detergent, dish soap, paper towels, and bathroom tissue. Let's not mention the food, too: there are bags of rice, cans of stewed tomatoes and beans, and jars of olives. If the end of the world does happen in my lifetime, I'll be able to survive on those olives alone. I think most of us grew up with parents like that. They grew up in families that lived through the depression, understood what it was like to be hungry, and vowed never to feel that way again.

My fathers mother.

"Mom calls it kinnip. The real term is Galuska." The dish is a simple one, everyone asks for it during these meals. It's basically tiny dough pieces boiled and then fried in a mixture of potatoes and onions covered in a ridiculous amount of butter. It's very similar to spaetzle, just without the egg added to the dough.