Clouds can be beautiful. Sometimes we see an approaching storm and sometimes we see the Divine. Our senses provide us with the hard core reality that is filtered through our perspective at any given moment.

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now.

Recently, I read on social media someone explaining a financial struggle they are having. I knew these were good people and members of Six Flags Over Jesus church, a mega-church/cult in our community. This is a cry for help, I believe, on so many levels. We have a huge problem in our community, a thriving cult.

I write in my book an encounter, my attorney had, with members of said church/cult. They were meeting with him for financial advice because they were tithing 10% to SFOJ church and could not pay their car note.

Do they realize their hard earned taxed dollars, being collected by this mega-church, are used to support pastoral leaders, as well as, an entity that is tax exempt? They are, in fact, funding a tax exempt golf and country club lifestyle, including large homes and luxury cars.

In what world is this acceptable?

Apparently, our world and it is all done in the name of God.

A friend and fan of the book said to me, “Jodi, we are not doing stupid,”

I said, “No, we are not.”

 

The following show aired last month on my radio show.  One of the first contacts I received, from fans of FIFI, were two sisters who had experienced everything I talked about in the chapter entitled Six Flags Over Jesus church. They knew the players in that chapter and wished I had disclosed more than I did. They also knew I was telling the truth. Because of that, they trusted me, wanted to meet me and tell me their story. We shared an amazing day enjoying Thai food, visiting a St. Joseph’s Altar and shopping in Chapelle’s bookstore. This is where they felt safe, in a Catholic high school, and had good memories growing up…away from the cult they knew in non-denominational churches.

Saree Shaefer is my guest this week on the show. It is important to listen to her story because she is coming from a place of authenticity and continues to heal today. There is no hype about the level of destruction these cults can cause. I plan to be vigilant in bringing this information to the public. Why do I do this? Perhaps because my family is leading a mega-church cult that is responsible for hurting so many people. I know it is not my fault but if I can, in some way, help others heal by listening to their story and shining a light, I will.

Please listen in on the audio below:

 

The following recording took place last month on my radio show.

Frank Tranchina is a local high profile attorney who is fan of my book F.I.F.I. and bought 5 copies for his clients because he thinks every woman should have this information.

If you missed the show, the recording is here at the bottom of the page! His impressive resumè is as follows:

Frank is a partner in the law firm of Tranchina & Mansfield,LLC. He received his law degree from Loyola University School of Law in 1979. He is Board Certified in Family Law by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization and is also licensed in the State of California. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He is a past chairman of the Family Law sections of the Louisiana State and Jefferson Bar Associations as well as co-chair of the board certification committee for family law practitioners when first introduced to Louisiana. In addition,Mr. Tranchina has been a frequent lecturer at seminars and conferences throughout Louisiana. Since 1985, he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America and has been identified in Who’s Who in American Law since 2000. In 2007, he was inducted into the Academy of Court Appointed Masters. He has also been listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers magazine since its first publication in 2007.

Mr. Tranchina was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to the Family Court Rules  Committee selected to recommend uniform rules for Family and Domestic Relations Court across the State of Louisiana. He frequently acts as Special Master on complex community property cases and has been appointed by family court judges as an expert witness. Most recently, he was qualified in the Los Angeles Superior Court as an expert on Louisiana law and testified regarding the validity of a transexual marriage that took place in Louisiana.

 

 

While reading an article online yesterday about Bernie Sanders, I had to ask myself: What disqualified me from being the domicile parent to my children??

Integrity?

Because I was excluded from the incestuous legal circles or perhaps because I  could not make promises of campaign money to The Honorable This or The Distinguished That?

Well, god forbid our kids should be raised by a parent with integrity.

My children are being wined and dined and promised fully funded advanced degrees on ill gotten gains. They are being raised by a smooth criminal.  Their father has committed several acts of insurance fraud and has multiple lawsuits against him from all over the state of Louisiana. He is an individual who should not be practicing law much less raising our children for the past four years.

The last telephone conversation I had with someone from an Insurance Company, where my signature and another person’s signature were forged, the dialog went like this:

Ms.Grey: “No one has made a report to the police or the Louisiana State Bar about your ex?”

Me: “Not that I know of.”

Ms.Grey: “You have not made a report?”

Me: “My attorney has not advised me to do so. Plus, I have been busy documenting my ordeal in a recently published book. My divorce cost me tens of thousands of dollars I didn’t have. Do I have to do everything?”

Ms. Grey: “You mean your ex is still practicing law?!”

Me: “Yep. Not only that but he has a weekly radio show giving legal advice. ”

Ms. Grey: “Oh my god.”

Personally, I would love to report my ex to the State Bar but my attorney, god love him, really wants me to have my half of the community property, which my ex refuses to give me. I would, in effect, have to relinquish my half in order to make the report.

I send ASAP emails to my attorney saying “Let’s do this.”,but he is tenacious about the money. I may have to wrestle him to the ground.

Clearly, my ex is an individual who should not be practicing law. He needs to be reported to the Louisiana State Bar but so far, no one has done so because they keep thinking they can get their money out of him if he continues his practice. You know, last I heard Edwin Edwards was doing fine selling Real Estate.

 

I have been asked several times, “Have you heard anything from your ex or family about the book?’  Up until recently,nothing but the sound of crickets. I would have to say the following is evidence that my ex ordered a book on Amazon as a means to cyber bully. Read on.

During my life I have witnessed people, who possess no self-awareness, display behavior much like a baboon showing his ass. Case in point, my ex has decided to turn his baboon’s ass towards reviewing my book on Amazon.com, leaving his initials behind (JS). He calls the writing “poor” and gives it a whole one star, in contrast with the nine 5 star ratings and fantastic reviews.

Further, he claims my grown children have nothing to do with me. First, this statement is false and secondly, it references nothing of the book.  It could only be made by someone heavily invested in the demise of my circumstances, not someone who has actually read the book. Besides the fact that he sounds like a lunatic, I will add he is a predator and a criminal who has committed insurance fraud. He has a lot at stake here.

As a father he is a coward who hides behind his kids and step kids. The big Christmas pictures of their Brady Bunch family, is a portrait mash up of  ‘Where’s Waldo?’ combined with, ‘Who’s going to jail?’

The camouflaging  almost works except you can still see the baboon’s ass.

My kids are just trying to survive. Two still live under their step-mother’s roof and my eldest is being bribed by a fully funded medical school education. Never mind the fact that they are forbidden to see me, I’d like to know if he has talked to the kids about, ‘Dad going to jail’… Yeah, I wonder if that conversation has happened.

The two star review by Margaret J. is someone who lives in the same retirement facility as my parents and probably their friend who doesn’t like what I wrote about them. However, I was able to extract some compassion from her, and she seemed almost reluctant to leave a poor review. Because my brother’s blood cries out to me, I could no longer keep silent about my parents.

And that is about all I have heard from my family and ex.

 

 

Since my book FIFI was birthed three months ago, I have had many great and wonderful encounters with my readers. Again, FIFI will not make everyone happy. I would not have felt I did the book justice if it did. With its release, I prepared myself for controversy. One month ago, in early February, FIFI was chosen to be the monthly read for a book club. As excited and supportive as most of the group was, someone decided a singular chapter in the book was about their church and became offended. As a result, FIFI was cancelled, full stop. Her comment to me was, “Everything in your book is negative.”  Wow. Really? I guess that is why publishers in Los Angeles wanted it.

Fast forward to yesterday, I met with two women who are still healing from being in the mega-church cult I talk about in FIFI. Both happen to be beautiful, articulate and affluent. With so much going for them, you would think they could easily snap back from a negative experience. Not so. They were traumatized and wounded. They openly shared with me their experiences which resonated strongly with the book. There was still anger, tears, and shame mixed with fear. I believed my place was to listen and I did. Admittedly, they had more stories and volunteered to tell me everything they experienced for Book 2. Perhaps, putting these events in writing will help. Writing, in itself, is a healthy process. Certainly, I welcome their stories. I am grateful this book brought us together and we completely bonded over the few hours we shared. I feel I have made great new friends.

I know I am not responsible for what my f**king family has inflicted upon others but I hope I can wake people up and shed light onto this mega-church cult situation. Once again, all I can do is sound the alarm. You and I are watching.

Such a good question and one I had not considered but clearly readers want more on the subject of FI in every possible way! So much so, that a small few seem to think I held back information from them concerning FI! I assure you I did not. Because this book is a true story and not fiction, realistically, I can only write what I know. I’m on a real time line in which I am living the book. Real life is funny in that it does not give all the answers and certainly does not come in a neat package. If my readers feel frustrated by the lack of intel I have on Dug, as well as, the lack of justice, imagine how I feel! Financial infidelity is not only a terrifying experience but massively frustrating.

When I spoke with a parish priest about my story, his first comment was, “This is an extremely complicated situation.” No shit. When reading FIFI, I suggest you fasten your seat belt and stay focused. There is a lot happening and the pace of the story clips along nicely. The book has been in the hands of a publishing company with professional editors and proofreaders. If there were any problems with the writing, I seriously doubt I would be here discussing a book with you.

What legal information I could help give my readers, I left to a professional. This is where my attorney’s contribution to the last chapter comes in and I think he took a very complicated subject and made it accessible to everyone. “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it.” ~ Albert Einstein.

In addition, I am confident more facts will surface because the truth always rises to the top. Herein lies the genesis of Book 2. Fear not dear reader, stay with me! We will get to the bottom of this and justice will prevail! (eventually)

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HANUKKAH !!!!!!  WOOHOO!!!!

Upon request, I have joined the board for a nonprofit organization called Bridge to Justice.  At first glance, Bridge to Justice is a mediation outreach for families going through divorce.  Sadly, children involved in the divorce process are often used as pawns.  We believe justice lives in the process.  Our primary goal is to protect children by providing professionals from several disciplines who give them support.

For more information please go to our web site www.bridge2justice.com for fundraising events and to make a donation.

Sobriety is the most important thing in my life because if I am not clean and sober, I cannot do anything.  In my immediate family of origin, only my father and I read books on sobriety and attended 12 step meetings.  No one else understood setting boundaries and detaching from toxic people and situations.  These are tools I employed early on when I stopped drinking at 25 years of age.

When my children were born, I decided I would allow my family to have a relationship with them.  I know I did the right thing.  However, now that my children are grown and nearly grown, they do not need me to forge these relationships for them.  I am free to detach from members of my family who remain toxic, even now.

As you can tell from reading FIFI, I am bracingly honest about my family’s dysfunction.  Not unlike a physical wound, I believe the only way emotional wounds can begin to heal is to expose them to the sunshine and oxygen.  If my own family fails to embrace wellness, my hope is this story will help others reach sanity and peace in a bullshit free zone.