Shoes of a Servant
My Unconditional Devotion to a Lie
Diane Benscoter’s epic journey in wearing the Shoes of a Servant reveals a mind lost to mind-controlling manipulators in a powerful cult, and then not only found but healed of the destructive memetic virus implanted in her youthful vulnerable spirit.
Diane grew up in the heartland of America, in a small Nebraska town with a loving family. At 17, motivated by her idealism and inspired by the lyrics of her favorite songs, she went in search of a way to end war. She soon found easy answers to life’s hard questions in the form of a religious cult, commonly known as the Moonies.
Benscoter tells a gripping story of her life in the cult, how her desperate family had her deprogrammed, how she then got involved in the underground world of deprogramming, while still recovering from her experience, and ultimately about her arrest for kidnapping. The story is at times humorous and at other times heartbreaking.
Shoes of a Servant provides insight into mental manipulation and human vulnerability to extremism. It challenges us to find ways to prevent dangerous memes from infecting those most at risk of falling prey to carefully packaged lies.
Get Paperback
Get eBook
Get AudioBook
See What Others Are Saying…
“Her message about the various forms of systemic and situational evil that are still among us in various masks is as vital today as it was in the try anything new era of the 70′s. I especially valued her “song book” that guides us through each of her challenging chapters.”
– Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus Stanford University
“Shoes of a Servant is a captivating first-person account of a young woman’s journey into the “Moonie” cult and her subsequent experience as a deprogrammer. This is an important book providing insight into the dangers of mind control. Her story is as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. I highly recommend it.”
– Steven Alan Hassan M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Author of “Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs”
“Shoes of a Servant is a great read. You won’t be able to put it down. More importantly; as you read Diane’s story of dedicating herself wholeheartedly to what she painfully learned was a manipulative lie, you will understand how imperative it is to teach the lessons within this book to young and vulnerable people. Read this book and share it with everyone – because everyone is vulnerable. I know this first hand since I worked with the police in the Matamoros narco satanic case.”
– Dr. Joachim De Posada, Author of “Don’t Eat the Marshmallow…Yet”
“As a young girl, Diane Benscoter joins the cult of the Moonies and surrenders her life, will, birth family and vision of reality. There are adventures, chases, lies, arrests, and imprisonment. After a period of questioning and deep pain, the author emerges at the other side of her experience. Honest and courageous, Shoes of a Servant is a thoughtful examination of the forcible submission of an individual to the strictures of a religious cult. Thank you, Diane, for allowing us to understand and accompany you on this unusual and dangerous journey, and for writing this book.”
– Kathleen Spivack, Writer, teacher. “With Robert Lowell and His Circle”
“Born in Nebraska, the author tells the gripping story of joining the world-wide Unification Church at the impressionble age of seventeen; then, for the next seven years, travelling with fellow “Moonies,” to small towns and cities across the United States in order to help the Church and its Father/ Founder, the millionaire, Rev. Moon. A well told and true memoir.”
– Hannelore Hahn, Author of the autobiography: “On the Way to Feed the Swans,” and Founder of The International Women’s Writing Guild, 1976-2011.