Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Sex Cult Nun: Breaking Away from the Children of God, a Wild, Radical Religious Cult

This is not a book you want to start into without first being in a good place. It tells the personal story of a child born to a family pivotal to the Children of God, or "The Family"; a cult organisation based on some twisted interpretations of Christian gospel.

There is overt sexual content in the book, and descriptions of children brought up in a sexualised environment, with authoritarian discipline and privations of scarcity and poverty.

I think I would have not understood this quite so well if I had not already read about various social controls and the nature of Domestic Abuse and trauma healing. The descriptions clearly outline the methods that were used to create submissiveness, dependence, and unquestioning loyalty in people whose fundamental rights were being violated regularly.

Honestly the whole concept in such an extreme social context just makes me consider the societal norms and methods of oppression that we have in our daily lives and just normalise.. "that's just how things are".

It's a powerful account, but not really a fun read.

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redvelveting's review

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dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

I happened to pick this book up for free and it definitely exceeded my expectations. Faith’s detailed and well-articulated recounting of her life with the Family is uncomfortable and very difficult to swallow but also inspiring to see how she gradually comes to terms with the truth and finds her voice. There were definitely moments where I needed to put the book down to process what had just happened. It is not an easy read at all, even less so depending on your own life experiences. But while there were many moments of discomfort, I was desperate to hear that things worked out for her, and hence found myself wanting to read more every night.

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sapphisms's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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shostakofish's review

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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growintogardens's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

3.25

I've read a lot about cults and personal memoirs from people in cults, but this one didn't really help me understand the cult itself. The descriptions of sexual abuse are so graphic, it's very difficult to get through.

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sara_m_martins's review

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This book is far too graphic in the abuse described.
Plus, the writing style and the form feel weird and dissonant, as the sequence of events goes from pages of different but relatively-mundane life (like building a wall) to extremely abusive and traumatic scenarios.
Additionally, I think I would rather read a more removed perspective - i.e. a biography instead of an autobiography

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smilagros's review

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

I feel very odd rating someone’s story. This is not fiction. This actually happened. I think that is what is so terrifying. I do want to acknowledge the bravery it must have taken to write this book. The story telling made me forget at times that this is someone’s life. Cults fascinate me but I also think it’s important to acknowledge that even though they fascinate me, it still is someone’s life. As someone who works with children, I flinched and semi yelled whenever an abuse was about to occur. I wanted to protect Faith and her siblings. I truly believe that everyone should read this because it gives a bigger perspective on the meaning of religion, power and the need to abuse people.

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