When the Sands Fall Away is based on a twenty-five-year span of my personal notebooks, from 1981 to 2006, except that the names of all persons and places have been changed. It encompasses several areas of my life, including, but not limited to: My adventures in the Soviet Union Childhood sexual and emotional abuse Family relationships Dreams Living with bipolar disorder My psychiatric therapy My experiences with Christianity My cult immersion Nature observations I offer my personal story in honesty with the hope that the reader will be entertained by the poetry and prose, as well as gain helpful insights from the therapy and various life-changing events that are shared in this book.