The Author

At the core of Johanna Michaelsen's self portrayal in this book are two central traits - a confident and absolute faith in the Christian God and His son Jesus Christ, and a searching desire to come to a deeper understanding of the Christian truth as revealed in the Bible. As a key component of this portrayal, she repeatedly points out that even in the depths of her involvement with Mind Control, with Pachita, and with other occult practices, she did what she did in the name of God, of getting closer to Him, and of doing what she believed to be His will. A reader might well be justified in perceiving this aspect of the author's self-portrayal as an attempt to excuse and/or justify her behavior.

An interesting point to consider is that while she portrays her commitment as going back into her college days (see...