Love, Sex, Fear, Death [Paperback]

There is no doubt that The Process Church of the Final Judgment has left a dark, indelible watermark of a sort upon the psyche of many who grew up during the 1960s and 1970s. Much of its mystique was due to the ultra-secret constraints placed upon members of the cult by the leadership, coupled with certain atrocities perpetrated by those with tenuous connections with the cult, such as the Manson family.

Over the decades since the cult's ostensible demise, conspiracy theorists and yellow journalists have woven a rich tapestry of innuendoes and lies which have blossomed to monstrous proportions, from Ed Sanders' The Family to Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter and to Maury Terry's phantasmagoria tale and sensationalist screed The Ultimate Evil and many lesser tomes in print and on the internet.

Compounding such wild-eyed speculations were the group's own visual style and strident theological manifestos bearing such titles as The Gods On War and Humanity is the Devil.

Love Sex Fear Death will, I am sure, be a big disappointment to many of those intent upon cheap thrills and titillations. The truth is generally far less prosaic, and in this case, certainly not sensationalist in any sense of the word. It is instead an insightful and factual account written by those who were there and a part of the cult.

Timothy Wyllie has written a sober, heartfelt chronicle of the cult. He was there from the inception of the group and was a classmate of one of the two principal founders and leaders of the group: Robert Moore DeGrimston.

Such sermons in print, whether symbolic, metaphorical or literal, certainly lent credence to such theories and provided a ready handle for paranoid speculations. Add to all of this the group's external attire and symbols, and it would be easy to feel that something wicked this way has come and arrived.

In both of the two primary sections of the book written as personal accounts by former insiders in the cult's hierarchy, we are presented with the fact that, however photogenic and verbally adept DeGrimston and his writings may have been, the real leader and ultimate fuehrer of the group was his wife, Mary Ann MacLean, a former London call-girl whose specialty was the role of dominatrix.

And dominatrix extraordinaire she was, taking the trade to a new level and unique application. Based upon the two primary accounts by Timothy Wyllie and Malachi McCormack, Mary Ann was a master manipulator brimming with charm and guile. She apparently had learned her stuff during her previous profession and learned its lessons well, and knew exactly how to apply these insights into human psychology to her customers and later to her followers. She knew how to seduce them and twist them around her finger and kept them coming back for more. Those who encountered Process members often spoke of the high level of intelligence and civility of its members. Unfortunately, well mannered, intelligent types with academic backgrounds were little match for the well honed instincts and intuitions of Mary Ann.

Most deplorable was her manipulating her own breeding program among the members and the manner in which she had the children treated in a fashion less kindly than the dogs of the group were treated. Mary Ann was a childless and barren woman, and it seems she was disposed to a contempt and resentment of those with normal maternal instincts in regards to how the children were treated and nurtured.

Her counterpart, Robert, seemed little more then a medium for her message and a window-dressing for the group. When he no longer served his mistress, he was conveniently cast to the wayside. She and Robert composed what they called the Omega of the group (the pinnacle of its power) and lived like the reigning Queen and King off the labors of the membership. Their lifestyle and travels were like that of the rich and famous. Large, expensive apartments, palatial estates were their lot in life as the membership of the cult often subsisted on leftovers from supermarket dumpsters.

Mary Ann seemed to take her dominatrix skills to an awesome level. She seemed worldly wise beyond her followers, many of whom viewed her as a goddess incarnate (in this case, Hecate) and worshipped her and served her whims with unquestioning loyalty and obedience, thinking all the time that her callous manner was somehow geared toward a spiritual growth or revelation.

Timothy Wyllie's account is clear and concise, informed and thoughtful. There are shorter chapters by a number of members of lesser stature in the group, all who in one way or another corroborate Wyllie's more lengthy account in the main. All the dispositions have an essentially subjective First Person accounting. That, I think, is to be expected in a group so very compartmentalized.

The book itself is handsomely packaged and providing nearly half of the volume with colored and black and white samples of the beautiful and artistic publications from the Process. Adam Parfrey has outdone himself on the editing and aesthetics of his production, and Timothy Wyllie no less can share that credit.

Though the book broadens knowledge of the inner dynamics of the cult, it is not so much a definitive history of the Process writ large, but is instead many personal accounts of individual experiences in the group. As Wyllie makes clear, there are probably as many stories as there were individual members.

There are still some relevant questions that were not addressed here and perhaps were beyond the personal knowledge of the authors. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the Process as well as the period of history covered here. It serves as an essential and primary building block in understanding the social and cultural aspects that have helped to shape the world we currently abide in.

Love, Sex, Fear and Death is a must read for anyone interested in the inner workings of a secretive organization. The late 60s, early 70s were rife with cults but this one was very different in that it still has an impact on society so many years later. Timothy Wyllie has done a remarkable job detailing the events that led up to the formation of a cult and its eventual decline. Since the people that stayed through to the bitter end now run the largest no kill animal sanctuary in the US and are worth millions of dollars, this makes the book even more interesting and relevant.
I was involved with The Process for a few years, on the inside. Therefore I know that these writings are honest to the extreme. For anyone that wants to better understand that era this is a must-read.

COMMONLY HELD ASSUMPTION: Cults attract mindless, feeble-willed automatons who blindly fulfill oft-deranged leaders wishes and whims.

REVELATION: Highly motivated, articulate individuals of complex intelligence and unparalleled loyalty propel societies, cultures and yes, also cults to infamous achievements and horrific downfalls.

Such are the revelations in this candid, intimate and disturbing look back at a dark side of the peace and love hippie years, The Process Church of the Final Judgement, written by former insider/high-ranking cult member Timothy Wyllie and other "processeans".

Mr. Wyllie, both multi-talented and a highly creative intellect, writes from the head and heart exposing both his soft underbelly as well as the gaping discrepancies that any devotee to "The Process" had to rectify, ignore or dismiss in order to function in the convoluted reality created by cult leader Mary Ann MacLean - the "incarnate Goddess" all but worshipped by cult members.

Having dabbled on the periphery of a number of cults and cult-like movements over my years, I was simultaneously delighted (relieved!) and yet a tad envious having never personally committed so fully to any movement as Timothy and the others did to "the Process", thus I have missed the exhilaration... and horrors of this heightened level of social experiment.

For that is, in the bigger picture, the function cults have played over the millennia in "civilized" societies. Just as an individual may become enmeshed in a cult for reasons of personal need or past trauma, cults are society-specific, working out the needs or distortions inherent in the structure of each. As the "black sheep" in the family will act out and thereby absorb the brunt of a nuclear family system disorder, cults can also serve to help societies purge/decompress their systemic dysfunctions but giving voice to often unspeakable aspects, ultimately serving the societal good.

This book, with all the heartfelt and self-deprecating admissions, also highlights the potential for human growth through "alternative" experiences - as challenging and absurd as they may look next to the mediocrity of "normal" socially acceptable lives and behaviors.

A great read - richly revealing, engaging and provocative.