I was raised from age 12 on in the Fellowship of Friends (FOF), which is definitely a cult, but not one of the horrible ones out there I have been reading about. ([www.culteducation.com]) At any rate, as soon as my mom was brought into the FOF by my stepdad, my life became a living hell. Previously it was just my mom and I living alone together as the rest of my family (dad, sister, grandparents, cousins, etc.) lived across the country. My mom turned from being extremely supportive and attentive to almost entirely ignoring and neglecting me. Since I had no family around I was always alone.

What is worse, my stepdad and her are very well educated and no matter how many times I would tell them the FOF was a cult, they wouldn't listen to me! My mom and stepdad would go to Renaissance (now Apollo) and I was either left alone or someone would watch me when I was in my younger years. If they took me to Renaissance I couldn't eat with them in the "lodge" and was relegated to eating by myself at a small restaurant on the campus or holed up in a tiny 300 sq. ft. cottage alone with no TV, radio etc. I was always alone.

I had a hard time making friends and retreated into my own pain. I was extremely successful in school, but that is all I had. Now years later, my parents apologized for what they did to me, but are still in denial about a number of facts that the FOF is a cult. So my questions are:

1) Does anyone else out there have a similar experience of neglect by parents in a cult?
2) Do other adults out there who were kids in a cult have alot of pain they are trying to work through and feel alot of anger over the parents who neglected them and put them at risk by being in the cult?
3) How do you work through your anger now?

I appreciate the advice!

Thank you.

Flower