Apocalypse Child

A Life in End Times - a Memoir

By: Flor Edwards

Narrated by: Flor Edwards

Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

For the first 13 years of her life, Flor Edwards grew up in the Children of God. The group's nomadic existence was based on the belief that, as God's chosen people, they would be saved in the impending apocalypse that would envelop the rest of the world in 1993. Flor would be 13 years old. The group's charismatic leader, Father David, kept the family on the move, from Los Angeles to Bangkok to Chicago, where they would eventually disband, leaving Flor to make sense of the foreign world of mainstream society around her.

Apocalypse Child is a cathartic journey through Flor's memories of growing up within a group with unconventional views on education, religion, and sex. Whimsically referring to herself as a real-life Kimmy Schmidt, Edwards's clear-eyed memoir is a story of survival in a childhood lived on the fringes.

©2018 Flor Edwards (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

A truly unique background and story

I've read more than a hundred memoirs/ biographies and there are precious few written by cult survivors. This book is a cathartic look by the author at her background and upbringing and offers insight into a very dimly understood part of our society, that of an entire childhood lived within a bubble completely isolated from the societal structure that most of us completely take for granted. It can be extremely difficult to integrate into a society which is foreign to a cult survivor or even victims of abuse or other trauma. This is an inspirational reminder that it is possible.

Amazing Story Well-Told

Flor Edwards tells the story of the Children of God from the point of view of a child living inside the cult. She's not only the person to tell the story but also the best narrator for it. Readers of a certain age will remember the headlines, and yet the story is told timelessly, with great insight and clarity.

Like getting to know a new friend...

I was reading Cultish (excellent) and Apocalypse Child was mentioned, so I sought out to read it once I'd finished. I'm glad I did! The book is narrated by the author and paints a vivid picture of her childhood memories, her life as a member of the Children of God and the hardships that came with it. I felt like I was listening to a friend recall tales of her childhood. Very much enjoyed this book!

Content First, Emphasis Second

Found this title through Narratively. Read the author's two articles and really got pulled into her world. Her reading of this story on the other hand feels a bit too forced. Still listening though.

Edit: Just realized it has to do with the emphasis placed on each word when read. But the reading improves in Chapter 2, so just stick with it!

Well done memoir

I’m sure that growing up in a cult was difficult for these kids but mostly in the afterwards. I mean that they were not tortured or abused and they had a loving family. Their upbringing was unconventional but it was the adaption to the world outside of the cult that was a big deal for them and others who left the Children of God group. Others have more lurid tales of this group but this author was one of 12 children raised under one roof with her parents and other group members. They moved a lot but had good world experiences while also being indoctrinated with a religious fervor. She sounds like she and her siblings did the necessary work to get past the strange circumstances they were raised under. Fascinating story.

Not enough cult recovery story

It wasn’t until the last hour of listening that the author got to the point of telling how she’d realized she’d been raised in a cult. So barley any writing on the process of realization nor recovery.
In addition, the bulk of the text was needless minute details of clothing descriptions and landmarks. As if someone gave her the writing advice “show don’t tell” and she took it overboard with details that failed to move the narrative forward. Perhaps this was exacerbated by the narrator whose affect was way to flat for this material.
Of all the books on cults I could have picked to help me with my own cult abuse, I regret choosing this one

kind of boring

Maybe it is the VERY dry delivery of the reader, but this book put me to sleep. The details of Flo's life aren't put together in any interesting way. It is like listening to someone recite facts.