Coming of Age / Psychological /Historical Thriller / Metaphysical
Memories of MK-ULTRA traces the development of three siblings from their early childhood—marred by harrowing mind control experiences in the CIA’s MK-ULTRA program—through their coming of age during the turbulent 60s and into their early adulthood in the 1980s. As the story develops, an incredible chain of events uncover the dark forces shaping their lives . . . until an unexpected source of light appears.
INTERVIEW
Introduce yourself and tell me about what you do.
Manhattan Book Group will publish my debut novel, Memories of MK-ULTRA, this coming September. The novel is inspired from my young childhood when I, along with my brother and sister, underwent experiments in the CIA’s MK-ULTRA mind control program. I am currently working on the second installment of my novel series, and Prolific Press published my fiction short story “Night Mother” in an anthology of short stories, Jitter Issue # 8.
One reason I wrote Memories of MK-ULTRA was to allow me to explore my childhood traumas with some distance. I also began a healing journey after my repressed memories surfaced, engaging in a wide variety of therapeutic approaches, including psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, parts therapy, Reiki, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT, also known as tapping).
Because of my interest in the healing field, I’ve co-authored an emotional health column in the Diablo Gazette Magazine with Dr. Holly Holmes-Meredith, covering a variety of healing methodologies. I am a certified Hypnotherapist, EFT practitioner, and Reiki Master. I also provide EFT coaching services. EFT involves tapping near the endpoints of energy meridians in your body to get release from negative emotions and physical pain. My wife, Inge, and I are working on a book entitled EFT on Steroids – The Extraordinary Benefit of Communal Tapping along with a website focused on the topic. We have facilitated group tapping sessions for over six years and believe they can provide a valuable service during these stressful times.
Besides embracing the joys of becoming a dad for three kids approaching their teenage years when I married my wife, I also worked in the financial industry and served as board president for two non-profits. My wife and I love to travel both domestically and overseas.
Tell me more about your journey as an author, including the writing processes.
I did not begin my journey as an author until my mid-20s. My interest in writing exploded when my brother experienced a psychotic breakdown, which, for reasons I didn’t understand then, had a profound impact on me, and I needed to bury myself into something. Inspired by Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror conventions I attended with my sister, I chose fiction writing as my new passion.
I had a lot to learn and a long way to go to develop my talents, but I kept at it. I eventually sent out my short stories and received encouraging feedback, with one magazine requesting some revisions and another committing to publishing one of my stories. But then my repressed memories started to surface and my life turned upside down. I’d been something of a loner, never thinking I’d marry, but the releasing of my buried childhood traumas and therapy sessions created personality changes, and before I knew it, I was married and gained three pre-teenage kids. Between my job and my new family, it was difficult to find time to work on my fiction writing. Given my busy travel schedule, I wrote much of the first draft of my novel while flying across the country at 30,000 feet.
Besides working with several professional editors, I’ve taken part in numerous writers’ conferences, workshops, and critique groups. I’ve also solicited feedback from well over 100 beta readers, who’ve read the novel cover to cover, including readers from a professional focus research group and a women’s book club. The feedback from these groups has been very encouraging and invaluable in developing and sharpening Memories of MK-ULTRA. A number of readers comment the novel is immersive, as if they are in or experiencing the story.
Tell me about your Book
Depending on audience interest, I can talk about the novel itself, my childhood experience in MK-ULTRA, and background information on the CIA’s MK-ULTRA program for those who may be unaware of its history.
The novel itself - The mystery of what they endured as children took a lifetime to unravel. Tommy, Beth, and Curtis Matthews are young children forced to take part in life-altering experiments in the late 1950s. They are placed in MK-ULTRA, a covert CIA mind-control program that was designed to create super soldiers or spies. The experience dramatically impacts their lives, but they don’t remember any of it—at least not right away. As they come of age through the turbulent 60s and into the 80s, invisible strings pull them toward their preordained destinies.
Dr. Rudolph Holtzmann, the Nazi-trained psychiatrist in charge of their CIA program, harbors a secret agenda to turn Tommy into a future world leader, but Holtzmann's work is compromised by dangerous forces surrounding him and by one of his experimental subjects, a Mexican boy with shamanic gifts. When MK-ULTRA aborts Holtzmann’s program, the siblings are left deeply damaged without access to the memories that can free them. It takes Curtis's psychotic breakdown and Beth's startling vision to open up pathways to their buried past. These developments lead to the detective work of Lynn Snyder, a diligent therapist—but will it be enough to unravel the hidden tapestry of deception?
Actual historical CIA records reveal that MK-ULTRA tried to approach the infinite and gain a gateway into the divine by opening doors to worlds beyond our reality. Those efforts, along with some memories embedded in this story, bring into question what we think we know about the reality we live in. The novel also explores themes of resilience, self-discovery, and the triumph of the human spirit. See the Story section below (# 9) for more about the novel.
The novel is inspired by my experiences – In 1958 my brother, sister, and I became child victims of MK-ULTRA. We repressed these experiences until we began to recall them over 25 years later. Because of our young age and the trauma and drug experiments we underwent, we cannot be certain of all our memories—hence, it’s a novel. But we recalled a number of common memories independently, which fit a pattern corroborated by well-researched books, major media articles, and government investigations. As mentioned earlier, I began an extensive healing journey soon after my repressed memories surfaced.
Historical information on MK-ULTRA - From 1953 to 1964, the CIA operated a secret mind control program called MK-ULTRA. The program experimented with psychedelic drugs, electroshock, hypnosis, psychological assault, isolation, sensory deprivation, and other forms of torture. MK-ULTRA conducted these experiments on American and foreign citizens, often without their knowledge or consent.
There were 149 separate MK-ULTRA subprojects with three broad aims: perfecting interrogation methods, conditioning CIA agents not to divulge secrets; and developing mind control techniques. Although MK-ULTRA experimented predominately on adults, it also experimented on college students and children. MK-ULTRA carried out its research activities at over 80 institutions, including universities and colleges, hospitals, prisons, government agencies, corporations, and other entities. In many cases, these organizations were unaware the CIA was the sponsor of their research and the source of funding. In its obsession to gain mind control expertise, the CIA recruited ex Nazi SS officers who had operated concentration camps.
MK-ULTRA received significant public attention in the 1970s because of a senate investigation and a presidential commission. Journalistic investigations soon followed, highlighting the numerous abuses of MK-ULTRA. The impact of MK-ULTRA continued after it’s shut down. Stephen Kinzer in his book Poisoner In Chief and John Marks in his book The Search for the Manchurian Candidate highlighted how the widespread drug experiments by MK-ULTRA contributed to launching the counter culture drug revolution of the 1960s. Naomi Klein in her book The Shock Doctrine documents how the CIA used MK-ULTRA techniques to orchestrate a coup and dictatorship in Chile and to assist Russia and China in their abrupt transformations to free market economies, which created the Russian oligarchies of today.
Any message for our readers
Reality may not be what you think it is, and healing is always possible.
Story
Memories of MK-ULTRA draws us into the psychological turmoil endured by Tommy, Beth, and Curtis Matthews as they grow up and come of age. Although their world seems normal, they are under the control of the CIA’s MK-ULTRA programming they no longer remember. When their memories re-emerge in adulthood, they catch glimpses of the life-changing summer that exposed them to both the darkest and brightest aspects of humanity. Not only do Tommy and his siblings uncover a web of manipulation and trauma, but also a hidden world beyond their imagination.
The story contains two interwoven storylines. One follows Dr. Rudolf Holtzmann, a Nazi-trained MK-ULTRA psychiatrist charged with engineering super soldiers and spies at the Gateway School, a CIA facility outside of Washington D.C.
The other tracks the quirky developments of Tommy, Beth, and Curtis as they grow up in rural Maryland, then suburban Texas. The smart, artistic Beth develops into a rebellious teenager whose search for alternative states of consciousness blends in with the drug-crazed culture of the late 1960s—until her love of books leads to a career as a science fiction author. Gregarious, tough-guy Curtis dreams of joining the military and later of movie stardom. Meanwhile, Tommy, plagued by fears and destructive desires, is concerned about his unquenchable obsession to become President—given his fascination with nuclear war.
Because of the interwoven storylines, readers see the trauma inflicted on the Matthew’s siblings as children, but they do not. Readers know why their development is so twisted, but they do not. And readers hold their collective breath as both horrible and life-changing truths are revealed, taking us on an emotional roller coaster.
A goal of the coming of age aspect of the novel is to give the reader insights to how buried unconscious experiences can dramatically influence behavior from childhood into adulthood as well as the dramatic inner struggles such experiences can create. Memories of MK-ULTRA forces us to question memory, identity, and the fragile concept of truth. The first book of a trilogy, it also provides a window into the multiple dimensions of the human mind and soul.
Readers often want comparisons to similar books, so below are a few:
Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wildflower - This coming-of-age story shares similar themes of repressed childhood memories and the transformative power of healing from unconscious traumas.
Richard Condon’s The Prince of Tides likewise deal with themes of repressed childhood traumas, the turmoil they can create in life, and the recovery that is possible.
Stephen King’s novels Firestarter and The Institute deal with children subjected to mind shattering experiments with paranormal effects.
Psychological thrillers such as Richard Condon’s The Manchurian Candidate and Shutter Island have dealt with attempts to control the human mind and memory.
About the Author
Bill Yarborough has enjoyed writing for many years. Manhattan Book Group will publish his debut novel, Memories of MK-ULTRA, in September 2024. The story is inspired by repressed memories from his young childhood where he, his brother, and his sister recall undergoing experiments of the CIA’s MK-ULTRA mind control program. Bill is also working on a sequel to his first novel, and his short story “Night Mother” was published by Prolific Press in an anthology of short stories, Jitter Issue # 8. Bill also co-authored emotional health articles in The Diablo Gazette Magazine, and he and his wife, Inge, are working on a book entitled EFT on Steroids.
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