The "Two by Twos"/ Cooneyites Visitor Comments

"I just want to thank you for your site on the Two by Twos. I only wish my mother was alive to read it. We never knew the name of the weird cult my father was raised in. We always called it The Religion. I was in my forties before I found a pastor who could actually give me a name for this group. My father was raised in a branch of the sect that immigrated to Alberta, Canada. My grandfather was a revered religious leader in this group. I had two auntx who were members, and one aunt who was a serious worker in the religion. My father actually broke away from it when he was young. Unfortunately he could not break the family ties. Those drew him to take my mother, shortly after he married her, back to Alberta, back to his family. I've often wondered if he hadn't done that if things would have been different. Perhaps not. I think the severe psychological damage was already done to him at that point. Still, they sought to inflict further psychological damage with wild rumours about my mother, etc. And they did quite a good job of it. I was raised on the fringe of the religion. My mother and I were considered outsiders 'People of The World.' But still I was taken to a lot of meetings by my aunts when I was young, exposed to other young women in the religion. Oh the rules, not allowed to cut your hair, wear makeup, go to dances, see movies, etc. Maiden aunts at fifteen. I rebelled, did everything that was frowned upon, wore makeup, etc. I thought I was an outcast from God. I didn't find out until I was in my twenties that it was okay to wear makeup, and also to believe in God, to go to church. Oh My God -- the evil that came from this 'religion' -- the sexual abuse, the physical abuse, the lies, the destruction. It has taken me a lifetime to recover."