I’ve been looking around online to see what else I can find about the place where my little-brother-in-law is right now. Ran across this:
excerpted from Rolling Stone 4/19/07:
Further reinforcement comes from the Academy’s required “Life Transforming Events,” the most grueling of which is ESOAL (Emotionally Stretching Opportunity of a Lifetime). [Ron] Luce was reluctant to share details about the “Opportunity,” a fifty-to-ninety-hour sleep-deprived endurance test, but a short video of the 2005 ESOAL provides revealing glimpses: students weeping and dragging giant wooden crosses on their shoulders; a boy rolling and puking across a field while a senior intern “sergeant” in camouflage and a helmet urges him on; a platoon of weeping girls; a shell-shocked boy mumbling into the camera, “Don’t know what time it is…. Don’t know what matters. … Don’t even necessarily know who I can trust.” (my emphasis)
WTF? No wonder LBIL is scared of it.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Amanda // Sep 14, 2007 at 1:28 am
Happy Birthday, Mrs. M. It’s my sister’s birthday, too!
Happiness abounds!
2 Anonymous // Sep 14, 2007 at 11:44 pm
That may not be what is best for him. He should explore his options. When the body is asleep it repairs itself. He should try his best to get at least 6 hours of sleep a day even if it is spread out. Good luck to him. If he is disabled due to severe depression pr other problems he may want to explore disabiltiy programs and medication to help him if he wishes. Good luck and I hope your birthday was wonderful. Annette
3 Anonymous // Oct 21, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Go to honoracademy.com to learn more about the HA. I graduated from the program about 3 years ago. It has completely changed my life.
4 mrsmicah // Oct 21, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Perhaps so, Anonymous, but the people there are treating my little brother in law like crap and making his life hell. I’m glad it was a good experience for you, but I can’t find a single good thing to say about it from his experience. Fortunately, he’s leaving at Thanksgiving.
Note: he’s even been told that he shouldn’t be taking his antidepressants. Very loving of them to make him feel guilty. If he’s ever healed that’ll be great, but until then his antidepressants are as much as medicine as drugs that treat pneumonia or cancer.
5 Esther // Dec 12, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Hi Mrs. Micah,
I’m at my 2nd year at the Honor Academy. I’ve been through ESOAL 2 times voluntarily. It’s designed to wear you out physically and emotionally so that emotions can surface that you need to deal with and work through. For example, if I struggle with distrust, the leaders might blindfold me and make me depend on my team to overcome that problem in my life. Nevertheless, it is an optional event, and only one part of the Honor Academy experience. I first went at a point when I was really depressed in my life. The internship turned my life around, and now I have hope again. It is not a cult. I’m sorry if your borther-in-law has had a bad experience so far. I really believe that you will get out of it what you put into it. I hope he experienced a change and didn’t leave.
6 intern for 6 weeks // Jan 29, 2008 at 10:30 am
I was an intern at the honor academy for six weeks. I actually left right before ESOAL 2006. It completely changed me as well, but not in a good way. After my experience there, it was harder than ever for me to trust anyone, even those I was closest to, even God. It still affects me today, although I am doing much better. I know that it may be a good experience for some, but I found several things wrong with the program. I am not discounting that Teen Mania does many positive things, but this program was not for me, and I know that I am not the only person who has been hurt by it.
7 Esther // Jan 29, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Dear “intern for 6 weeks”,
I’m sorry about your experience. What happened?
8 Rachel // Jul 29, 2008 at 4:48 pm
The HA is a cult and it has taken me years to get over some of the things they did to me.
9 Shelly // Aug 23, 2008 at 7:11 pm
My little sister left early because she was so distrubed by this place. I’m so glad she left!!!!
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