JONESTOWN SURVIVOR - Book 2 is in the Works! I am excited to say that I am resuming my work on my second book. I am setting the deadline for my first draft mid-June 2019. This book will have four parts: Updates on all things Peoples Temple/Jonestown that I have learned since I wrote my first book Jonestown Survivor: An Insider’s Look in 2009 and published it in 2010. Putting Peoples Temple and the rise of Jim Jones in Historical Perspective. Jonestown and Guyana - last March, seven of us returned to Guyana and Jonestown. My husband Ron, and son Raul, Jordan Vilchez (a fellow ...
» continue readingWhat if Congressman Ryan Had NOT Visited Jonestown? A question that comes up often, and did again today, from a researcher/friend, is: Would the deaths in Jonestown have happened without Congressman Leo Ryan's visit tipping Jim over the edge? Here are my 2 cents: Basically, there was a lot going on affecting Jonestown and Jim in the summer of 1978 - Jim was increasingly paranoid, mentally ill, isolated, and more addicted to drugs Jim learned that Jonestown would never be self-sufficient for the residents - 1,000 and another 1,000 waiting to come over - his original plan was for 600 but he oversold it. The ...
» continue readingKohl Speech for 40th Anniversary It is wonderful to see everyone here. Some who could not make the trip are awaiting our photos and thoughts as well. When I reflect on my nearly 9 years in Peoples Temple, I feel that it was both one of the highlights and one of the deepest traumas of my life. When I was in Peoples Temple in both California and in Guyana, I felt committed to an idea, even a dream, that took me outside of my personal needs. I found a community that asked much of the members. I thought that I was making ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor to Speak on Cult Leadership Styles, at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at SDSU, March 29 BY SUZANA NORBERG – JANUARY 24, 2018POSTED IN: EDITORS PICK, SDSU'S OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE How do you distinguish quirkiness from insanity in a leader? What are the red flags to watch for? What are our expectations of a leader? A fluke-survivor of the Peoples Temple and decade-long resident of Synanon — an alternative community in Santa Monica, Calif. that disbanded in 1991 — will share her analysis of both cults, as part of the Love Library Series through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at SDSU. Laura Johnston Kohl will ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Visit to U of Puget Sound on Monday, February 12, 2018: 9:15 meet host, Dr. Jeff Matthews at U of Puget Sound 10:00 first-year seminar (students will have just finished Jonestown paper) 11:00 first-year seminar (same as above) 12-2pm lunch/break 2:00 pm senior research class (wide-ranging discussion including research and writing process) 3-5 pm break 5:00-6pm campus presentation 6:30 pm dinner
» continue readingJonestown Survivor - Spring 2018 Here is my schedule for Spring 2018: December 14, 2017: Cal State University-San Marcos-Osher class in Murrieta December 28, 2017: 3-hour Radio Interview “Spaced Out Radio” January, 2018: Set up summer speaking events Feb. 11-13, 2018: Speaking in University of Puget Sound classes and Public Meeting March, 2018: Return trip to Guyana - Georgetown and Jonestown Cal State University-San Bernadino Osher in Palm Desert (3 classes) San Diego State University-Osher class April 4-6, 2018: Speaking at Arkansas Tech University - Anthropology classes Communal Studies Association - Conference Call Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley And, I continue to teach 6th grade language arts in middle school. I ...
» continue readingWHY a Guyana Section of the jonestown report? Laura Johnston Kohl I am delighted to share that I will be the Assistant Editor of the Guyanese Perspective section of the annual jonestown report, published by Fielding Mc'gehee and The Jonestown Institute. My journey to understanding Peoples Temple started with me looking through a microscope.at my life and my pain. Then, I widened out my view to include my fellow survivors, and a growing group of those also affected by the deaths and Peoples Temple. I gradually moved beyond the smaller circle into a more global understanding. When I returned to the United States in ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Fall 2017 to Spring 2018 Activities - Update September 12 Skype Interview with Polish Journalist Piotr Wloczyk of Historia Do Rzeczy, the largest Polish history magazine October 3 (Tuesday) University of Cincinnati 9:30-11 2 classes - Conformity and Obedience Psychology Class, Speybroeck’s class, and a Stats/Research Methods Class, my host Dr. Brian Metcalf’s class. 2-3:20 Psychology Class on Cognition and Learning, Room: McMicken 127, in Valerie Hardcastle’s room 6-7:30 Presentation Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple, “Lindner Center 450,” 2751 O’Varsity Way, Cincinnati, OH October 6 Presentations at Communal Studies Association at the Zoar Community October 19, October 26, November 2, November 9 and November 16, ...
» continue reading[caption id="attachment_2073" align="alignnone" width="3200"] Evergreen Cemetery - Peoples Temple Panels[/caption]the jonestown report As a Jonestown Survivor, I am working on a very interesting project. The Jonestown Institute publishes (now on-line) a yearly "report" with writing from many sources about all things Peoples Temple. This year, I am editor of a "Guyanese Perspective" section. Over the past week, I have heard from about 150 Guyanese about their experiences with Peoples Temple in Guyana. It is fascinating! The articles will appear in the November issue of The Jonestown Report - take a look at last year's edition at: http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=67218 the jonestown report, Volume 18, November ...
» continue readingJONESTOWN SURVIVOR to Present in Zoar, Ohio at Communal Studies Association Conference Jonestown Survivor will participate in the Communal Studies Association Annual Conference in Zoar, Ohio. I am a Board Member of the CSA and have gained insight into my own experiences living in the communities of Peoples Temple and Synanon. I reflect and present about my evolution of understanding in these settings. THE THEME: To succeed, grow and survive, all successful communal groups have had to adapt to changing situations, be they internal or external: internal changes in their leadership, in their environment, and in their membership, as well as those ...
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