Walker Judson has a grand secret. He sees light that emanates from, and surrounds other folks. Soul shadows, the boy terms them. Years later, as director of The Living Light Healing Center, he meets the hunchback, Lauren Finch, and straightens her spine. Seduced by his charisma, she then becomes his devout assistant, ultimately transforming into a powerful healer in her own right. When all goes awry, even as Lauren's faith is challenged, even as others abandon Walker, she remains steadfast. But how far is she willing to go to prove her devotion, and what will it take for her to peel off the blinders and trust her own strengths?
And so, is Walker Judson truly a healer-gone-bad or a saintly soul whose paranormal talents are misunderstood?
Ultimately, you, the reader must decide.
Today's news is rife with stories of physical and emotional abuse on the part of Catholic priests and Buddhist monks, as well as school teachers and sports coaches. Furthermore, cults such as the People's Temple, at the behest of their leader, Jim Jones, require followers to commit mass suicide. Along another vein, politicians, athletes, and entertainers, Bill Clinton, Anthony Weiner, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jackson-to name a few-violate the trust of family and supporters, destroying lives in the process.
So why are tales of manipulation and abuse rampant among the powerful? Then again, why are followers so easily swayed that they cast aside common sense and discernment?
The Worship of Walker Judson explores the misuse of power and the ease with which seekers relinquish it. Psychic phenomena, cultism, mystics and madmen, the retelling of the Christ story in the context of the persecuted healer, along with the role of personal choice versus karmic destiny are issues examined in this novel.
About the Author: Janice Strubbe Wittenberg is author of the non-fiction book, The Rebellious Body: Reclaim Your Life from Environmental Illness or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Plenum Publishers, 1996), and has co-written a forthcoming book, My Husband Is Under There Somewhere, about obsessive hoarding. The Worship of Walker Judson is her first novel. As a registered nurse, she spent thirty years working in mental health. Today, she resides in Aptos, California with her husband, John, two zany cats, hosts several beehives, and tends a flock of hilarious chickens.
