BOOK REVIEW: "The Power of a Transformed Wife"

[Koala]

Not surprisingly, Lori has taken to her blog today to whine about the Amazon reviews. 

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yesterday I saw that sure enough, they were posting nasty reviews about me and my blog, not even my book! (I have no idea why Amazon allows comments from those who haven’t read the book.)

I am betting Amazon was on the receiving end of a phone call from Lori, yesterday.

She goes on:

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I went to the women in the chat room and asked them to write reviews for me about what they know about me and what I teach. Some of them happily did this for me. (If any of you would like to do this for me, I would appreciate it very much.) I know, without a doubt, that this is a spiritual battle.

For clarity:

Amazon allowing negative reviews from people Lori assumes haven't read her book= bad

Amazon allowing her fan girls (who most likely haven't read her book either) to post glowing reviews= good.  Because spiritual battle.

 

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 They have sites dedicated to slandering me. 

Slander is spoken.  That is all.

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They seem to know every detail of my life because they know details from every comment I have ever written on my blog. They have nothing better to do with their time than to cyber stalk and speak evil of others.

Again, for clarity, Lori's blogs to the internet about her life.  If you read her blog and disagree with her, you are a cyber stalker.  However, if you read her blog and agree with her, would you mind leaving an Amazon review?  K, thanks.

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All those who are writing such nasty reviews must be miserable people who use their precious time in trying to destroy others.

Hey, Lori?  Here's your review of Jesus Calling.  You're welcome.

http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2015/11/beware-of-jesus-calling.html

[AmazonGrace]

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All those who are writing such nasty reviews must be miserable people who use their precious time in trying to destroy others.

The confessions of a mature aged drama queen: "I disagree with someone and tell people so: I'm only helping. I'm the godly mentor. Someone disagrees with me and tells people so - they are trying to DESTROY me! I can't handle a world in which people have different opinions!" 

12 hours ago, Koala said:

Cassandra:

Three things:

1) Not every Christian will agree that Lori's interpretation of scripture is correct.

2)  Cassi asserts that Lori has saved thousands of marriages.  Let's do the math on that.

Lori has been blogging since 2011.  According to her own account, she read Created to Be His Helpmeet 8 years prior to that.  Let's be generous and say that she began mentoring the day she picked up the book. That gives her 13 years of mentoring from the day she picked up the book.  

Cassi says thousands, but let's just say Lori knows two thousand couples and has single handedly saved their marriages.  That would mean she was averaging saving 153 marriages a year.  So basically, in a given year she saved a marriage every other day.  

Even if we cut it down to a thousand, she would have been saving approx. 76 marriages a year.  That's more than one marriage per week. 

Please....

 

Even if the math was correct the definition of "saving" is probably up to some debate... I'll give her that she's probably "encouraged" some women to stay in shitty abusive marriages that they and especially their kids would be far better off without.

[Koala]

Here's a better question: 
Lori's book has been on the market for approx. 12 days.  In that time she has received 22 reviews.  14 of them were 5 stars, 8 of them were 1 star.   Where are the thousands of people who had their marriage saved by Lori?  Why aren't they leaving reviews?  You would think they would be praising her from the rooftops if she saved their marriage.

[AmazonGrace]

Sorry, they're too busy to read, having bad sex and homeschooling their brood takes up all their time.

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

BAM.  Wow.  She was much faster on the "Waaa .. evil feminists are attacking me on Amazon because they hate the Truth" post than I thought.

I was sort of surprised there wasn't a guest post from Ken or Cassi defending her.  Maybe Ken is saddling up his White  Horse of Truth to ride in here and give us all a stern lecture.

Edited to add.  On the blog Lori is saying that the raisin incident is a lie and how dare someone post that lie on Amazon reviews.  Any FJ-er have access to the original post quickly?  Because I think we should quote Lori's original post on Amazon..  She'll never let us do it on the blog or FB.

 I suggest this because if even one women who has never heard of Lori but is tempted by the book reads the raisin post and runs away in horror, we've saved a child from possibly being abused.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

26 minutes ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

Maybe Ken is saddling up his White  Horse of Truth to ride in here and give us all a stern lecture

If only he'd come back on FJ! I'd love a Christmas present in advance 

[alba]

BAM.  Wow.  She was much faster on the "Waaa .. evil feminists are attacking me on Amazon because they hate the Truth" post than I thought.

I was sort of surprised there wasn't a guest post from Ken or Cassi defending her.  Maybe Ken is saddling up his White  Horse of Truth to ride in here and give us all a stern lecture.

Edited to add.  On the blog Lori is saying that the raisin incident is a lie and how dare someone post that lie on Amazon reviews.  Any FJ-er have acces to the original post quickly?  Because I think we should quote Lori's original post on Amazon..  Sh'll never let us do it on the blog or FB.

 I suggest this because if even one women who has never heard of Lori but is tempted by the book reads the raisin post and runs away in horror, we've saved a child from possibly being abused.

Huh, that doesn't fit with Cassandra's comment, which appears to validate the raisin incident.

These people need to get their stories straight.

[kupcake]

On 10/8/2016 at 5:39 PM, louisa05 said:

Me: "You couldn't even get a hot dog at a game or eat one at school?" and she earnestly said, "no, my family doesn't eat them since my dad doesn't like them". Since then, she has told us about a million other things the whole family can't  eat or like or do since daddy doesn't like it.

Sorry I'm late to this convo, but: 

Boyfriend Kupcake hates peanut butter. I will put that shit on everything. I eat it by the spoonful. I found out that the whole family was never allowed to eat it because his mom hated it, so she told all of the kids they were allergic to it. Their dad thought it was nuts but he was always working and left it alone. Now he's just so set in his ways that he just can't stand it, even though he knows he's not allergic.

That being said... there is a plethora of peanut butter in our house. Jars, ice cream, peanut butter cups, even peanut butter Oreos. He doesn't have to eat it, just like I don't need to eat 15 kiwis a week like he does? 

How weird. You hate something, so everyone around you needs to hate and fear it too?! This is insane to me. No one at the grocery store ever asks me who each of my items are for. I just take them home and eat them as I please, or I don't. My business, thanks.

[Emilycharlotte]

Quick question---is it at all normal practice on Amazon for writers and/or their families to respond to/argue with reviewers? I am just wondering how common it is--because it seems very bizarre to me.

[quiversR4hunting]

@usmcmom so glad you were having fun with family and you hadn't altered your birth control or started only serving big salads after reading the book. After the debates, we all need drinks.

Thank you for the review, I look forward to more of the train wreck. If the money didn't go to her, I would buy the book so I could write "verified purchase" review.

[kpmom]

16 minutes ago, Emilycharlotte said:

Quick question---is it at all normal practice on Amazon for writers and/or their families to respond to/argue with reviewers? I am just wondering how common it is--because it seems very bizarre to me.

I've never seen it happen either.

I've seen reviewers argue with each other, but never authors or their family members.

I do recall Steve Maxwell answering a few of the negative reviews of Sarah's book on Amazon, but it was only about people complaining about grammar, and Steve was actually polite about it.

[Loveday]

I'm trying to decide if I want to join her sooper sekret chat room on FB so I can leave a review on Amazon as a chat room member. But if I do join, I'll be member number 666. I don't know what to think about that.

[Hisey]

You know, you can attach photos as part of your review. I've never done it, but I've seen it done. Perhaps we could use screen caps of pics of Lori's writings, and attach them to a review. I have the screen cap of Ken's revolting comments on incest. But I'm not sure if doing that is right or not. Thoughts?

[FundieWatcher]

I don't think it is morally  wrong to post screenshots of her blog writings on Amazon. The book is an extension of the blog, so that is relevant to me. And the book is religious. Something that demonstrates her theology is also relevant and helpful. But I don't know if that is within the Amazon guidelines though. 

It is also acceptable to me to write a  review without buying the book. With the book being a off shot of the blog, regular blog readers have an accurate understanding of her beliefs. 

[littlemommy]

I always read reviews of things before I buy them. If I was trying to save my marriage I'd definitely want to know that the author of the book I was considering is: a shitty mom, a shitty wife, a child abuser, married to an incest and rape apologist, and all around godawful bitch. 

[Koala]

 

2 hours ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

 

Edited to add.  On the blog Lori is saying that the raisin incident is a lie and how dare someone post that lie on Amazon reviews.  Any FJ-er have access to the original post quickly?  Because I think we should quote Lori's original post on Amazon..  She'll never let us do it on the blog or FB.

 I suggest this because if even one women who has never heard of Lori but is tempted by the book reads the raisin post and runs away in horror, we've saved a child from possibly being abused.

http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2012/03/breaking-their-will.html

This is in the post:

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 The first time our children had a temper tantrum or refused to obey us, around 18 months, Ken and I would take turns telling them to pick up the toys {or whatever they were refusing to do} and then give them a swat on their bottom if they wouldn't do it.  With all four of our children, it took almost four long, difficult hours.

Lori wrote this is in the comments of that post:

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One of them wouldn't pick up their raisans. We would tell her to pick them up, she would say "no", and we would spank her. She would cry for awhile. After awhile, we would again tell her to pick up her raisans. She refused. We spanked her again. We would make her stay where she was until she finally picked up her raisans. Ken and I would take turns because it was very tiring but oh, so worth it. None of our children had tantrums after that. They each had one but found out it didn't result in anything good and wasnt' worth it.

If you read the first quote, she notes that it took 4 hours.

Later (July of 2016), Lori describes what constitutes a spanking:

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When I was a disobedient child, my mom would tell me to go to my  room. The anticipation of knowing I was going to get a spanking was not fun. {This is why I was a fast learner!} She would come in with a flyswatter and spank me on my bare bottom. Afterwards, she would hold me in her arms and tell me why she spanked me. "I want you to grow up to be a disciplined adult, Lori, and this is why I had to spank you. You need to learn to obey me right away when I tell you to do something." Then it would be over and I would go happily off to play. This is much better and more effective than time outs or being grounded. It's over quickly!

 

We did the same with our children, only we used an eighteen inch piece of leather strap.

http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2016/07/applying-rod-chapter-nine.html

She mentions it again in this post:

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 Yes, we spanked them on their bare bottom and it stung, but it was quickly over and did the job that we intended for it to do.

http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2016/07/attack-on-traditional-child-training.html

So we are talking about hitting an 18 month old with a leather strap for 4 hours.  That is child abuse. Period. No question.  If anyone knows how to screen shot it, that'd probably be a good idea.  Now that Lori has been linked to the posts, she will probably go ahead and clean house, lest her readers figure out that she's a liar.

As a side note- Has anyone noticed that neither Ken nor Cassi has addressed the accusations that have been made against him?  They've addressed other things, but neither of them is touching that one. 

[alba]

1 hour ago, Emilycharlotte said:

Quick question---is it at all normal practice on Amazon for writers and/or their families to respond to/argue with reviewers? I am just wondering how common it is--because it seems very bizarre to me.

No. In fact, authors are generally advised to avoid interacting with reviewers full stop. For one thing, it threatens the impartiality of reviews if reviewers know the author is reading and responding; even if the author responds politely, or only to positive reviews, it understandably makes reviewers uncomfortable to know the author will be reading what they write and might respond to it.

For another, a bad review on its own is just one person's opinion. A bad review with a response by the author is more likely to be one person's opinion with a condescending "But you don't understand!" from the author or a muleish insistence on the author's opinion. Even if the author's polite it still comes across as trying to shut down discourse about something they've released into the world. It's very difficult for authors to come out of responding to reviews looking better than they would do if they just kept their hands away from the keyboard.

ETA: @Koala I've screenshotted all those pages if anyone wants them.

[Koala]

You have to pay close attention to what Lori says:

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They are the same people who have maligned me since I began blogging almost six years ago and they repeat the same false accusations over and over again. They have sites dedicated to slandering me. They follow me even when I comment on another’s blog and attack me there. They seem to know every detail of my life because they know details from every comment I have ever written on my blog.  They have nothing better to do with their time than to cyber stalk and speak evil of others. 

She starts off saying the accusations are false and that she's being slandered (although she gives no specific examples).  She ends with complaining that she is being cyber stalked because people read her blog and are able post direct quotes showing the horrific things she's said / pointing out how frequently her advice contradicts her life choices.  

Ken shared those concerns when he was here.  It seems he equates people reading & quoting Lori's public blog with tabloid reporters stealing a diary and divulging what's inside.  He also feels that her free speech has been inhibited, and that things said in comments can't be taken seriously.

[Hisey]

She just responded to a critical comment by thanking the person and saying that it will make people go to her blog. She did this two  minutes ago. Apparently she is keeping a close eye on the Amazon reviews.

[kupcake]

Oh my god, the responses she and her family give. It reminds me of my fiction writing round tables in college. Some days people told you that you basically shit Hemingway level gold, and some days you'd get ripped to shreds. But there was always one kid who came back with "well you just didn't read it right," and the teacher would tell them to knock it off and learn or get out. You think Gertrude Stein sat around and gently told someone that their work changed her life when it was shit? No.

Some of the greatest artists in history had a major group of artist friends who sat around and shot down or built up each other's ideas. That doesn't make them dicks. Criticism is a part of life, dear Lori, especially when that's all you do to other people (women). Learn to take it, double so if all you do is criticize others.

[I love Pringles]

2 hours ago, Emilycharlotte said:

Quick question---is it at all normal practice on Amazon for writers and/or their families to respond to/argue with reviewers? I am just wondering how common it is--because it seems very bizarre to me.

Not normal! My uncle has 7 books publisbed and has never got on there to are with reviewers 

[FundieWatcher]

That 'too bad she didn't get transformed into a good person' review is mine. I replied. Hoping she continues the conversation. 

 

I guess I'm an Amazon reviewer noob. How come she is 'Lori Alexander' but I'm just 'Customer'? My real name is attached to the account. I'd rather have my name up there and not seem like I'm hiding behind an alais. 

[Koala]

39 minutes ago, Hisey said:

She just responded to a critical comment by thanking the person and saying that it will make people go to her blog. She did this two  minutes ago. Apparently she is keeping a close eye on the Amazon reviews.

Interesting.  Let's break down the assertions of the reviewer: 

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Unfortunately this author has made a name for herself by tearing down other Christian authors

Lori says:

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what you have written is false

I won't bore everyone with an endless list of links of people Lori has called out, but the reviewer is correct. Here is a link to Lori tearing down the book Jesus Calling:

http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2015/11/beware-of-jesus-calling.html

Reviewer: 

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This includes posting pictures of acquaintances, unbeknownst them, and insulting their clothes.

Lori says:

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what you have written is false

http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2016/06/modesty-and-homecoming-court.html

*Their faces were only blurred out AFTER Lori was called on it*

Reviewer:

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Readers may want to keep in mind that Lori had nannies and housekeepers when her children were young

Lori:

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what you have written is false

Reality?  Lori posted a picture of her daughter's nanny with the following comment:

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Lucy was a Nanny sent from heaven who never wanted to let Cassi cry, so she held her hours a day.

Unfortunately, Lori chose to delete that picture, so when you click on the link, you get the following:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152226165764245&set=a.10152226259899245&type=3&theater

The fact that she deleted it only serves to make her look even more shady.

Here, Lori refers to sending the woman who was helping her keep her house, to clean for the neighbor. She uses the opportunity to gossip about the neighbor's house:

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When I was growing up, my mom had a very dear friend who she was very close to.  She was a terrible housekeeper, however.  When I would babysit, I would clean the kitchen for her and it would take hours.  Everything was a mess.  It would be a terrible place to live in.

When my children were growing up, we had a neighbor who was the same way.  I sent a young woman who was helping me when I had four small children and Ken was traveling half the year to clean her house one time.  She said it was terrible.  She found dog poop on the floor, it was infested with fleas, and smelled badly.  My children detested the days that she was the driver for the carpool.  Her car smelled like vomit and it was trashed.

http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2014/05/extremely-messy-homemakers.html

Which begs the question, which of the readers accusations were false?

[Shiny]

She has responded a ton. It is the worst thing she could be doing. All this is going to do is attract negative attention...how can she not see that! 

[Gemini]

I wonder if Cassie has ever come across negative feed back over her mother's behaviour before. Lori doesn't allow it on her blog and there's no reason why Cassie would think to look for any, After all she's been conditioned to think her parents beat her as a tiny child for Jesus.

If Cassie has any critical thinking skills left that haven't been beaten out by her parents, Lori might have opened a big ole can of worms!