After the Fire

By: Will Hill

Narrated by: Devon Sorvari

Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

A teenager's world is shattered in a devastating confrontation between the cult she grew up in and the forces of the US government.

Father John controls everything inside The Fence. And Father John likes rules. Especially about never talking to Outsiders. Because Father John knows the truth. He knows what is right, and what is wrong. He knows what is coming.

Moonbeam is starting to doubt, though. She's starting to see the lies behind Father John's words.

Then a fire engulfs life as she knew it, and Moonbeam is forced outside The Fence into a world she does not recognize.

Alternating between Moonbeam's life before the fire, and her time spent in a government-sanctioned facility afterward, After the Fire is a fascinating look at life inside a cult and its harrowing effects on survivors.

©2017, 2018 Will Hill (P)2018 Recorded Books

riveting

a compelling story of life inside a religious cult and the healing that begins after it's fiery end

Good story, but uses a lot of repetitive wording

I hated the use of "whispers the voice in the back of my head." I kept wondering if the main character had schizophrenia because she hears this voice so often. The author could have given the intuition of the main character a better description. If you can get past the annoyance of hearing that phrase over and over again, it's a good book.

Thoroughly Enjoyed the Story

Yes, the language may be simple, but remember that a 17-year old girl with no formal education is telling it, which made perfect sense to me. I found it easy to follow...each chapter happened either before or AFTER the fire. Details are slowly revealed as Moonbeam works through her trauma and recovery with the help of her doctor. She is also gradually building a trusting and respectful relationship with the FBI agent while helping him with his investigation.

I lived just outside of Waco, TX when the Branch Davidian Cult nightmare happened and I've always been interested in that story. Now, I live in an area of Utah with a plethora of polygamist families and I've heard stories about girls and boys and women who have escaped from those situations; in fact, my mother worked directly with a group of "Lost Boys" who were kicked out of their polygamist families when they hit puberty. They were viewed as "competition" to the older men in the community who wanted to marry the young girls. These boys were driven into St. George or even to Las Vegas and dumped on the streets. Many turned to drugs and alcohol, crime, and prostitution just to survive. She worked with a group who helped them find housing, get GEDs, taught them interview skills, helped them dress for job interviews, etc.! It is always shocking to me that people will follow these sociopaths! They must be completely trusting and gullible, or so desperate to belong to a group or a family that they gladly accept the crazy rules (or "proclamations") that are imposed on them. And for parents to subject their children to this kind of madness is just unbelievable!

Anyhow, I am just an avid reader/listener, NOT a book critic. I read books or listen to books for enjoyment and relaxation. Some of the reviews on here make me wonder if some people think a little too highly of themselves.

Gives you all the feels

Oh what a well written book. I listened to After The Fire because my 14 year old daughter is reading it and wanted to talk about it with me. It’s a beautiful story but will make you feel so many things for each of the characters.

Interesting topic, poor delivery

The recording is tinny and impersonal. The bones of the story are interesting but the details and delivery don't make sense. I don't recommend this book.

Flawed

3.5 STARS

Moonbeam and several other minors survived the fire that killed sixty-seven fellow cult members. Her psychiatrist wants to help her through the trauma while an FBI agent wants answers to complete his investigation. Moonbeam just wants to know what happened to her mother.

AFTER THE FIRE is a powerful, compelling story of a girl on the brink of adulthood who knows nothing but life inside the abusive cult, what happened before and during the fire and how Moonbeam is surviving AFTER THE FIRE. Will Hill kept my interest for most of the story, but I skimmed the parts of the cult doctrines and the nitty-gritty details of the teachings because that level of detail was not material to Moonbeam’s journey.

One red flag I can’t overlook is when the psych hospital put the survivors together for unsupervised social interacted. Although doctors observed behind a two-way mirror, a sexual assaulter would NEVER be allowed to be alone with a victim, particularly a younger girl. This made me a cringe and distracted me from the storytelling. As much as I enjoyed AFTER THE FIRE, the entire book was basically Moonbeam recounting cult life before and after. Moonbeam’s psychiatric treatment took a backseat to the agent’s questions. I wish Hill had done better research of psych hospitals and PTSD treatment.

AFTER THE FIRE is a compelling, yet flawed book.