Discussion with two-time Doomsday cult survivor Claire Ashman

Mike Grist Cults, Research, Writing 6 Comments

Yesterday I spoke with author and speaker Claire Ashman, a victor (not victim) of two Australian cults which sucked up most of her life, from her childhood to the age of 36 when she finally escaped with her 9 kids. It was a fascinating, eye-opening discussion for me, and a brilliant step in my research journey to better understand cults, sects, and NRMs (New Religious Movements – which Claire explained). I’m grateful both to Claire for being so generous with her time and her life story, as well as to my good friend Rob Nugen, who introduced us. The introduction …