Virtual Author Reading with Sarah Patrick and her memoir Binding Shame

Winner of the 2025 International Cultic Studies Association’s Dianne Casoni International Award, Binding Shame is a deeply moving memoir that delves into the life experiences of children raised in cult-like environments, highlighting victimization and the shift to becoming victimizers in adulthood. Sarah Patrick shares her teenage years at Grenville Christian College in Ontario, connected to the Community of Jesus sect in Cape Cod, where discipline involved humiliation, shame, and physical punishment. She also looks back on returning as a teacher and recognizing her own role in the punitive system, all while dealing with media reports of abuse. The book is noted for its literary quality and showcases the author’s honesty, examining how abuse can be justified within cultic systems. Binding Shame serves as a testament to the power of truth and the healing that follows. Readers will be drawn to Patrick’s transformation and inspired by her unwavering determination to find peace.