Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this amazing memoir by Daniella Mestyanek Young - 5 stars!
Daniella was born into the religious cult, The Children of God, and her family were high-ranking members. The Family, as it is sometimes known, is a thinly-disguised sexual cult, and Danielle lived with constant abuse - mental, physical, and sexual. The family lived in different countries and Daniella had no format education. When she was 15, she fled to Texas, enrolled herself in high school and, against all odds, excelled. She went on to college and was valedictorian before joining the Army to train as an intelligence officer.
In the vein of Educated and The Glass Castle, this is an amazing story of resilience in the face of evil, taking back your power, and owning your body and mind. To be able to accomplish what Daniella has done is nothing short of amazing. She knew early on that what was happening to her wasn't right or normal and kept her brain from succumbing totally to the cult mentality. It was also a powerful connection made to other group mentality issues, such as the military and more traditional religions. The concept that the military breaks you down in order to build you up the way they want also describes cult brainwashing. It also explores the female role in combat and the military, and Daniella was a trailblazer in this arena. This is a story that should be required reading by the powers that be in the military. I mostly listened to the audiobook, because it was narrated by the author, making it even more powerful. Highly recommended!
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