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Who is Charlene L. Edge who writes about The Way International?

Who is Charlene L. Edge (me) who writes this blog? For those who want to know, here's a short bio. I include it here because this coming September I will retire my author website. Charlene Edge's brief bio Charlene Edge’s most recent book is From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life —a delightful multi-genre collection with something for every reader and writer. (New Wings Press, LLC. 2022.) She is more widely known as the author of the award-winning memoir, Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International . (New Wings Press, LLC. 2017). The award is a Gold President's Book Awards medal given by  The Florida Authors and Publishers Association in 2017. Charlene grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in a Roman Catholic family. In 1970 at East Carolina University, students recruited her into The Way International, a Bible-based cult; she gave it the next seventeen years of her life. After escaping The Way International...
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May 1st: Cult Recovery Day

Greetings, readers, especially fellow former followers of The Way International—in its heyday one of the largest cults in America. Today I'm celebrating Cult Recovery Day, and I honor your strength to have left Victor Paul Wierwille's cult and its offshoot groups in the rearview mirror to create a new life. It's not an easy path. Cult Recovery Day The following is from the team at Cult News 101. Ten years ago, Patrick Ryan, one of its editors, provided a supportive blurb for Undertow when it was published. You can read that blurb in Undertow and also at the end of this post. Honoring Strength on Cult Recovery Day Today, we observe **Cult Recovery Day**—a time to recognize the immense courage it takes to reclaim one's life, identity, and autonomy. Healing is not a linear path, but it is one paved with resilience. We honor the survivors, the families who never stopped searching for answers, and the dedicated professionals working to provide a safe harbor for t...
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Undertow's 10th Birthday Coming in November!

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Hi readers! Amazingly, my memoir  Undertow  will celebrate its 10th birthday this November, 2026. Yeah, I know it's a bit early to begin celebrating, but that's what's happening, so welcome to the first of many posts to honor this book's life in the world.  If you don't know, Undertow is my personal story about the 17 years I was a leader and biblical researcher in The Way International (1970-1987) and how I escaped. The book has sold every single month for ten years to readers around the world.  This review is important because The Way International is still in business today, recruiting vulnerable believers who just want to know the Bible. Note : A word about publication dates that I learned during the process of writing this book. In case you don't know, I published the book in November 2016 and began selling it then; however, the publication date printed in the book is 2017 because books published after the end of September of any given year are given the fo...
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What The Way International REALLY Teaches

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Hi readers, Just for the record, I thought I'd post the following: a letter I sent to the St. Mary's Evening Leader newspaper 15 years ago. That's the major Ohio newspaper, in St. Mary's, OH, near to The Way International headquarters which is on Wierwille's old family farm outside The Village of New Knoxville, OH. I didn't expect a reply from the newspaper, and I didn't get one, but I sure felt good about telling them my thoughts. I still feel good about that. FYI, I've updated the link to The Way's current website. Letter to the Editor submitted online October 17, 2011 In the spirit of the current “Occupy Wall Street” movement, I propose a similar movement called “Occupy The Way International” (TWI). I am writing to your paper because TWI, founded by Victor Paul Wierwille (1916 – 1985) is located outside New Knoxville, Ohio, a town within your newspaper’s reporting jurisdiction. Since I live too far away to occupy Wierwille Road, the street i...
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Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit Against The Way International

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Greetings, readers. News of lawsuits against The Way are often lost or ignored, especially by followers of The Way who deny their importance. This post offers well-researched material about one such lawsuit. Although it happened 26 years ago, it affected many people's beliefs, reputations, and families. That matters. I bring this to your attention today because it ties into my recent post on the topic of sexual misconduct at The Way:  Was Victor Paul Wierwille, Founder of The Way International, a Sexual Predator? Victor Paul Wierwille, the first President of The Way, personally trained its second president, Craig Martindale, who is featured in the lawsuit I reference here.  The following report was published on the website of the Christian Research Institute, by Hank Hanegraaff.  Hank Hanegraaff | Christian Research Institute  : The Way TreeIs Splintering | Christian Research Institute "The second president of The Way, Craig Martindale, admitted to sexual misconduc...
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The Way CHANGES the 1972 story in Whiteside's book, The Way: Living in Love

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Greetings, readers. In 1972, The Way International published a book, The Way: Living in Love , by Elena Scott Whiteside. I call it TWLIL. The Way now says they republished it. The following description is from their website:  The Way: Living in Love – The Way International Bookstore "First published in 1972, The Way: Living in Love is being re-released for a new generation of readers. Whether you’ve been part of our ministry for decades or are just discovering it, this beloved book offers a vivid glimpse into the early days of The Way International—through the lens of one unforgettable day at Headquarters. It’s a portrait of a community where God’s Word was lived with boldness, joy, and love—and where people from all walks of life came together around their love for God’s Word." I ordered and received two copies recently, and I'm telling you they DID NOT republish the original book. They changed it.  [March 2, 2026, I added this note to this post]: The Way added a Forword...
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What Did Victor Paul Wierwille Say About Women?

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UPDATE on 2/25/2026: I just received two copies of the re-published version of  The Way: Living in Love  by Elena Whiteside that I ordered from The Way last week. I wanted to see whether they changed any of the text in the original text of the book that shows VPW in a bad light. THEY DID. In the quotes from the original version of the book (I own) that I give below, I will now bold the wording that's been deleted in the re-published version that I just bought from The Way. Greetings, readers. This post will give you insights into attitudes Victor Paul Wierwille (1916 - 1985) founder of The Way International, had about women that were published in a book about The Way in 1972. Those attitudes are not flattering to women. They are written in black and white, making them irrefutable evidence. The book? The Way: Living in Love In 1972, The Way International's American Christian Press published a book by Elena Scott Whiteside,  The Way: Living in Love . In the book, Whiteside ...
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