Editor’s Note: This review focuses on a cult and a murder. The book is not for sensitive readers.
Without a Prayer takes readers through the Word of Life Christian Church in upstate New York, This church probably would not have drawn much attention, save for their strangely gated buildings, the secrecy, and the murder of one of their members. Founded by Pastor Jerry Irwin, the congregation found themselves donating excessive time and money, as well as being forced into plans for their lives by their charismatic leader. When Jerry died after suffering a stroke, his family attempted to have him revived by a faith healer and only after threats from local law enforcement did they have him turned over to a mortuary. That’s when the real horror started. His daughter, Tiffanie Irwin, had been raised to believe that she was a type of messiah. She took on the congregation and made it a full on cult. During her time in power, a young man named Lucas Leonard would be forced against his will to confess at the altar that he’d practiced witchcraft, planned to kill his parents, and other horrifying statements. He was brutally beaten by church members, including his parents and sister. He arrived at the hospital dead.
Journalist Susan Ashline takes readers through the world of the Word of Life Christian Church and how they went from a Sunday gathering to beating a a member to death. What she reveals is a series of horrifying abuses of power, fear of being falsely accused, forced marriages within the community, and families being forced to separate when family members decided it was all too much. Ashline is detailed and thorough, and at times, it becomes difficult to believe that families could turn on their children the way the cult did. The book explains how it happened, including the subtle changes that sounded the alarm for many members.
Without a Prayer is a truly terrifying book, more so because it is a true story.
Susan Ashline’s Without a Prayer is available from Pegasus Books August 8, 2019.
