Debby Schriver is an author and a cult survivor advocate whose projects connect us to common, core values that lift the human spirit. A native of Chicago, Schriver earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her study of psychological and sociological development began in college and has been an integral part of her career as an educator at UT (Associate Dean of Student Conduct and Orientation and Manager of Employee Training and Organizational Development) and as a writer.

Schriver’s focus on the area of child development began in her work with the Foster Care Review Board to which she was appointed by the Knox County Juvenile Court. There she worked with a community focused on serving the needs of at-risk youth: lawyers, social workers, and foster parents. A similar group of caring professionals have been essential in informing Debby’s work on her book Whispering in the Daylight, The Children of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and their Journey to Freedom (University of Tennessee Press, 2018). Alamo’s story is part of an upcoming Sundance TV docuseries “Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo,” produced by NBC Peacock Productions and World of Wonder Productions, in which Schriver appears as an Alamo expert.

Schriver’s previous books include In the Footsteps of Champions: The University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers, the First Three Decades; To Read My Heart: The Journal of Rachel Van Dyke, 1810–1811 (co-editor); and Ice ’n’ Go: Score in Sports and Life (co-author). She lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with her husband and currently serves as the president of the International Cultic Studies Association, or, ICSA.