Season 2, Episode 11 – A Good Samaritan

Welcome to this week’s True Fiction Project Podcast. I have the privilege of speaking with Beth Hennessy, Fiction Author & Singer/Songwriter in the music group, Kalliah. Beth tells us the story of the cult she grew up in and her family’s experience there. She discusses the rules and reasons for a cult and how her family became a part of it. Beth then shares what led her family to leave the cult and what life on the other side was like. She talks a little about her experience trying to create new beliefs that relate more to herself than the beliefs she was ingrained with during her time in the cult. Then, we hear a poem inspired by Beth’s experiences in the cult. A Good Samaritan is written and voiced by Beth Hennessy.  

IN THIS EPISODE:

[2:07] What about Beth’s past inspired her new book?
[4:33] What is a cult, and how does it work?
[6:21] Why do cults decide to live their way of life?
[9:39] Why are people eager to please the cult's leader?
[14:07] What led Beth’s family to leave the cult?
[17:56] What was it like in the outside world with the cult's beliefs?
[20:53] Where is this cult, and does it still exist?
[24:30] A poem, A Good Samaritan, written and voiced by Beth Hennessy 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 
  • Your past does not have to be your future.
  • Learning to tune in to your beliefs as you grow older and determining if the beliefs you grew up with resonate with you are essential to uncovering who you are.
  • Many things can happen under our noses that we overlook. Open your eyes around you, see what others are going through, and be kind, as you don’t know what the person next to you is experiencing.  
FICTION CREDITS:

A poem written and read by: Beth Hennessy 

BIO:

Beth Hennessy is a multifaceted creative with an unusual beginning. Now a fiction author, songwriter, singer, and visual artist; she can still remember a time when being her most vibrant and free self, wasn’t encouraged. She grew up in a closed community where TV, movies, and music with drums were prohibited. But this didn’t stop her from imagining stories for her little sister’s entertainment, drawing elaborate pictures, and sneaking into the neighbor’s house to play the piano. Her upbringing only fuels her truth. “Our past does not have to be our future. Our minds belong to no one else. They are our own. They are our freedom.”

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