Closing the Gate: Inside the Heaven's Gate Cult: A Biography

For most of us, the headlines regarding the Mass Suicide of the thirty-nine "Heaven's Gate" cult members in Rancho Santa Fe, Ca. in 1997 was a sad curiosity. For Author Deb Simpson, it became up close and personal when her now adult, baby brother Jimmy, became collateral damage. She writes with great courage and honesty in examining Jimmy's plight: his dream of a place to call home, his tumble into the world of a cult, and the inevitable downward spiral that his lonely life takes. She causes us to examine and reflect on the crucial developmental years and every child's yearning to belong. Closing the Gate is simply and frankly written. The author pulls you into her story and doesn't let you go. In fact, you will be thinking about this one long after you close the book.