I was absolutely on-edge with every chapter. As an outsider looking in, I found myself frustrated, devastated, appalled, and angry as Weiss relayed the horrific treatment of Word of Faith Fellowship followers. The child abuse, the "blastings" that were basically beatings conducted by members during what they consider "church services", the arranged relationships and marriages, the strict rules, the failed attempts at escaping, financial fraud, and the obstruction of justice on the part of church officials and what should have been unbiased law enforcement -- all of it had me horrified and wanting to yell. I felt powerless listening to their stories, so I can only imagine how absolutely hopeless these people felt, and how some of them still feel today. To know that this "church" gets away with such abuse of its members and such blatant lawlessness is something I'm still trying to come to terms with, and it in no way personally affects me. I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with their faith, who is captivated by true crime, and who enjoys investigative reporting. I am forever changed by this book, and now I can't drive by one of those small "homegrown" churches without wondering what exactly is going on behind closed doors...

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

Wow, what an insane ride! I had never heard of Wors of Faith before. The story is in-depth, honest, and very respectful of survivors. Really good.

The book was somewhat interesting, and would probably be useful to someone dealing with a cult situation. It was easy to read and quick to get through. However, it didn't really excite me much. It just seems like there are books on cults that would be on my to buy list above this.

At the Word of Faith Fellowship, in Spindale, North Carolina, the only word that matters is that of Jane Whaley. While they bill themselves as an evangelical Christian church, to those who have left, outsiders, and experts, Word of Faith is incontrovertibly a cult. Jane Whaley is the cult’s charismatic leader, regarded by some members of her congregation as a prophet. She, along with her deputies, control every facet of members lives. Her preoccupation with “the unclean,” the group’s euphemism for sexual thoughts, feelings, and actions, appears to be matched only by her propensity for abusive actions. Weiss and Mohr demonstrate that even after decades of reported abuse, news stories, fraud, and other crimes, local law enforcement bends to the will of the cult. Broken Faith follows a family through twenty years of membership and subsequent escape, and discusses the stories of other survivors who are actively involved in attempting to save those who are still inside.

There’s something fascinating as well as horrifying about how cults rise to power and the way that people find themselves trapped. Weiss and Mohr’s skill as journalists is on display for the entirety of the work, simultaneously providing a focused narrative on the Cooper family and a broad view of the practices of the cult. The massive scope of Jane Whaley’s power is hard to capture in the book, and until I did some additional searching for references to the cult in the popular press, I assumed that this was a cult of a size that you would see on a television drama - a handful of families living in a compound. In reality, Whaley has hundreds of followers in the United States, and possibly thousands more internationally. After forty years of existence, multiple generations have been born into this cult, and her absolute power over their lives does not seem to wane, only to increase.

Highly recommend to those who enjoy true crime, or those interested in the phenomenon of religious extremism taken to the point where it becomes a cult of personality. While descriptions of abuse are not particularly gory, they are graphic and a cornerstone of life within Word of Faith.

I received a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley for an honest review.