Publisher delays release of books by speaker who led fatal sweat lodge ceremony in Arizona

Publisher delays books by guru in sweat lodge case

PHOENIX — The release of two books by author and motivational speaker James Arthur Ray has been postponed in the wake of three deaths that occurred after a sweat lodge ceremony he led this month in northern Arizona.

Hyperion Books publicity director Marie Coolman said Tuesday that the December release of a paperback version of Ray’s best-selling book “Harmonic Wealth” and a new hardcover title, “The Seven Laws of True Wealth,” will be delayed until late winter.

She had no comment on what led to the decision.

The delay comes as authorities continue a criminal investigation into the Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony at a high-priced retreat outside Sedona, Ariz., that left three dead and nearly 20 others hospitalized.

Lawyers for several of the victims have said they plan to pursue lawsuits, although none have been filed.

Calls to Ray’s spokesman, Howard Bragman, were not returned Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Ray’s Spiritual Warrior program. One of the victims was from Minnesota.

“People came from all parts of the country to attend an event which they believed would enhance their lives,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “Instead, three people died, 18 were hospitalized and dozens more were traumatized. Mr. Ray neither enhanced their lives nor protected their safety.”

Klobuchar asked the FTC to review Ray’s marketing and advertising practices and also asked Attorney General Eric Holder to determine if any federal laws were violated.

Between 55 and 65 people took part in the sweat lodge ceremony that was the highlight of the five-day program at a private retreat near Sedona. Interviews with participants and law enforcement officials paint a picture of a two-hour period ceremony that degenerated into chaos as people became sick but were encouraged by Ray to remain inside for the entire time. An emergency call reported two people without a pulse and not breathing.

Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, died at a hospital the night of the ceremony. Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., died more than a week later at a Flagstaff hospital.

The lawyer for Neuman’s family, Louis Diesel of Flagstaff, said he is preparing a lawsuit naming Ray. Ted Schmidt, the attorney for a southern Arizona woman who was badly injured, said he expects to file a suit as early as next week.

Schmidt and Diesel both discounted an extensive liability waiver the participants were asked to sign before the retreat began.

“The law hates those agreements and almost always find them not to be enforceable,” Schmidt said. “Especially when you’re trying to release somebody from your negligence.”

His client, Sidney Spencer, was hospitalized for days with kidney and liver failure and respiratory arrest, Schmidt said. She was unconscious for more than an hour after being pulled from the sweat lodge and spat up blood when she regained consciousness.

A law firm in New York, Stone and Magnanini, is representing the family of Kirby Brown and is in discussions with several others involved in the incident, partner David Stone said. The firm is evaluating the legal issues and investigating the case.

Sheriff’s investigators in Arizona’s Yavapai County are treating the deaths as homicides but have yet to determine the cause. Ray has hired his own investigative team to try to determine what went wrong and vowed to continue holding seminars despite criticism.

“I have taken heat for that decision, but if I choose to lock myself in my home, I am sure I would be criticized for hiding and not practicing what I preach,” he wrote on his blog last week.

Ray has become a self-help superstar by packaging his charismatic personality and selling wealth. He uses free seminars to recruit people to expensive seminars like the Sedona retreat that led to the sweat lodge tragedy.

He also markets his own line of self-help books, often pushing them to participants at his events.

Beverley Bunn, a 43-year-old Texas resident who participated in the sweat lodge ceremony, said Ray touted his new book at his retreat and asked everyone to buy multiple copies for family and friends so he could make the New York Times’ best-seller list.

On the Net:

James Arthur Ray, www.jamesray.com