Welcome to Litsy!

Born and raised in The Children of God Faith‘s story is both infuriating and hopeful. She is the granddaughter of “the prophet” and founder of the cult. The focus of the cult is love and that idea is twisted and mutated is ways that will make you sick.
Faith fights against the status quo and gets an education and eventually breaks from the cult (not a spoiler, the book wouldn‘t be if she was still a member).
4⭐️ if you like strong women.

Started this today. It‘s interesting. ‘The Family‘ known as the Children of God was/is one hell of a cult 😯 If I remember correctly this is the same cult the River and Joaquin Phoenix grew up in.
Faith is the granddaughter of the founder of the cult.

So. Overall this was a great story. It gave a lot of insight into this cult and the breaking away from it. The title having “nun” in it makes no sense to me. If anything the title cheapens the book as it feels publishers were trying to do a bait and switch. #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I can‘t remember which one of my #LitsyLove peeps recommended this one but… I‘m a succor for all things cult.

#CrimeADay

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sex Cult? Yes. Nun? Nope. The provocative title is just obnoxious marketing. Faith Jones, granddaughter of The Children of God founder David Berg, recounts her life in this sexuality exploitative, abusive cult. I was no fan of Educated, but I hate how this memoir‘s description uses that comparison. Again, garbage marketing. Educated is a massive success regardless of my skepticism. That aside, I sincerely hope writing this was therapeutic.

Hoping for more analysis of the Children of God but that was expecting too much of a former member. Jones is the granddaughter of the founder and thinking proximity would grant insight was a complete error - even the immediate family was kept isolated. This is a litany of traumas that Jones is still processing. To that end I give this a soft pick, but enter knowing all the triggers are there and this is only a part of the author's healing jouney.

My isolation reading continues:

This one was a tough read (think all the triggers you could associate with a book with this title in graphic detail) but ultimately a worthwhile one. At first I didn‘t like the immature style it was written in but then as I progressed realized that was the intent and had a greater appreciation for it. Even more so, I‘m amazing at the perseverance and vulnerability the author shows in sharing her story.

As expected, this memoir of growing up in the Children of God religious cult was full of dramatic and outrageous twists and turns which makes it an interesting story. I do think it could have done with a bit of an edit. While separately interesting, I'm not sure all the vignettes needed to be included to support the overarching narrative. The end was a little positive/preachy for my taste but that's a personal preference thing.

Oh my gosh this is brutal. It‘s bleak. It‘s filled with child abuse, child sexual abuse, sexual abuse, neglect. But it‘s also not that well written and it doesn‘t actually really get you anywhere or give you a takeaway at the end. So it‘s definitely a mixed picture.

Praise be! Libby is delivering to my kindle again, so not only can I read this, but little sis can too (her kindle is on my account) and then we can talk about it together.

I love memoirs and the perspective I gain from reading them. I don‘t like to rate someone‘s personal experience, but in this case it‘s more the format and structure of the book that didn‘t work for me. I listened to the audiobook which had a pleasant sounding narrator, even when describing horrific situations in the book. I‘m proud of Faith Jones for overcoming her impossible childhood but I don‘t think I can recommend this book.

ALL the trigger warnings, for kids and adults. This was a difficult, yet fascinating read. I‘m so happy the author found the strength to tell her story.
I find cults fascinating and will read tell-alls and escape memoirs as often as I can.

Cow & I decided we needed some lighter reading after getting about 200 pages into A Little Life. #catsy #catsoflitsy #littenskittens

I was extremely spoiled by my swap match, @LouLouLane ! Thanks, friend!

#NashvilleLittens

A fascinating, if longwinded, look inside the Children of God cult written by a granddaughter of the founder. In addition to sharing details of their worst sexual practices CW ⬇️, she also shares her life in and out of favor with the church. From being sent to re-education camps in Thailand and Japan to living sort of happily in Kazakhstan and Macau, she worked hard to escape the cult mentally and physically when she was a young adult.

Despite @rachelsbrittain ‘s so-so on this one, my love of all things cultish made me want to give this a try.

It‘s a look at the author‘s childhood in and leaving the Children of God cult. I watched a show on ID about three women who were in as kids and it was equal parts disturbing and fascinating.

I‘ll tag anyone interested in my review. #NewReleaseTuesday #audiobook

Pretty sky here in KY this afternoon!

Despite the very provocative title, this book is really a memoir. As the granddaughter of Children of God founder David Berg, Faith was raised in the cult from birth, mostly on a farm in Macau. She certainly lived a very interesting life & if you're fascinated by cults (as I am) it will probably be an interesting read, but if you know anything about the Children of God you'll understand why the title references a "sex cult."

TWs in comment below.

This is the second book I've read by someone who grew up in Children of God aka The Family, forced into questionable practices because of decisions their parents made. Faith Jones' grandfather is actually the founder, Mo, of this one.

CW for sexual abuse, religious brainwashing, psychological harm, etc.↘️