Hell Minus One: My Story of Deliverance From Satanic Ritual Abuse and My Journey to Freedom

The butterfly had emerged with pale yellow, brown-edged wings. The paper thin wings were moist and translucent as the butterfly slowly fanned them up and down to its own inner rhythm.

Without warning she lifted up into the air and flew out through the hole in the screen. We ran to the classroom window and cheered as she flittered across the playground and disappeared. The sight of the butterfly flying free made tears run down my cheeks. I turned away and secretly wiped the moisture from my face. I didn’t understand why at the time, but to me that butterfly was like a little slave—and now she had broken free!

For years, Anne’s own mother and stepfather subjected her to satanic ritual abuse (SRA), a criminally inhumane and particularly depraved form of devil worship. Miraculously, she lived to tell her story—an inspiring story which proves that light overcomes darkness and our God-given ability to define our own lives is never lost.

Detectives from the Utah Attorney General’s Office were astounded when Anne’s parents confessed their atrocities in detail. Hell Minus One is a unique and powerful memoir by a woman who has been to Hell and back—literally!


“While I was working as a television journalist I had interviewed dozens of people who told me they had been victims of ritual abuse. The people seemed sincere but what they said was so horrible and outrageous that I wasn’t sure whether part or any of their stories were true. Anne’s story was different. She told me how her parents had ritualistically abused her for years and she brought something no one else had ever offered: a confession from the perpetrators. I admire Anne’s willingness to put a light and a face to these dark deeds. I hope other victims will learn from her experience and realize that speaking out is the only way to put a stop to any type of abuse.”

Paul Murphy
Director of Communications, Utah State Attorney General’s Office
Former News Reporter, ABC News affiliate KTVX Channel 4, Salt Lake City, Utah