Uncultured

A Memoir

By: Daniella Mestyanek Young

Narrated by: Daniella Mestyanek Young

"It’s a dark story that forced me to think more expansively about what constitutes a cult." —The New York Times' Ernesto Londoño

"Although this is Mestyanek Young’s first time narrating, listeners will appreciate hearing this deeply personal story told by the author herself. Share with fans of Tara Westover’s Educated and Deborah Feldman’s Unorthodox. Memoir readers will want to check this one out." —Library Journal

"A painful and propulsive memoir delivered in the honest tones of a woman who didn’t always think she’d live to tell her story." —The New York Times

This program is read by the author.

In the vein of Educated and The Glass Castle, Daniella Mestyanek Young's Uncultured is more than a memoir about an exceptional upbringing, but about a woman who, no matter the lack of tools given to her, is determined to overcome.

Behind the tall, foreboding gates of a commune in Brazil, Daniella Mestyanek Young was raised in the religious cult The Children of God, also known as The Family, as the daughter of high-ranking members. Her great-grandmother donated land for one of The Family’s first communes in Texas. Her mother, at thirteen, was forced to marry the leader and served as his secretary for many years. Beholden to The Family’s strict rules, Daniella suffers physical, emotional, and sexual abuse—masked as godly discipline and divine love—and is forbidden from getting a traditional education.

At fifteen years old, fed up with The Family and determined to build a better and freer life for herself, Daniella escapes to Texas. There, she bravely enrolls herself in high school and excels, later graduating as valedictorian of her college class, then electing to join the military to begin a career as an intelligence officer, where she believes she will finally belong.

But she soon learns that her new world—surrounded by men on the sands of Afghanistan—looks remarkably similar to the one she desperately tried to leave behind.

Told in a beautiful, propulsive voice and with clear-eyed honesty, Uncultured explores the dangers unleashed when harmful group mentality goes unrecognized, and is emblematic of the many ways women have to contort themselves to survive.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Fascinating and introspective

I've seen the author's videos online, so I knew a bit about what to expect, but the specifics of her story and how she told it kept me hooked the entire book. I knew going in there would be criticism of the US/Army but when it started I still felt defensive. So it definitely gave me an opportunity to sit with why I had those feelings, but I am also mature enough to acknowledge everyone has a different reality, and she was sharing hers--intimately and openly. We should regularly question our own environment as much as we question the world around us and she didn't focus on criticism of the US but on both of the "worlds" she has experienced. My only criticism of the book is that the 2nd half didn't seem quite as introspective as the first. It felt a little more like a play-by-play of events which I understand was necessary to complete the story but it ended up feeling rushed compared to the pace of the first half. Definitely one of the best memoirs I have read and I have already recommended it to colleagues.

Wow! Best book ever

This is such a true honest brave and compelling story of struggle bravery survival perseverance and the courage to learn, reflect and self develop. A story so inspiring to many and hopeful about human connection. Simply wow. Best read ever.

Beautifully written and narrated

Great read. A story of perseverance and strength, horror beauty and finding yourself- finally. Brava.

Life changing

Hearing Daniella read her story so eloquently brought me into her life experiences. This allowed me to process my own trauma from religious and spiritual abuse with her compassionate voice. Daniella is clearly knowledgeable in cult dynamics from her research as well as her experience.

Add this book to your list ASAP!

Thank you for telling your story so others have more language to tell their own.

Thank you for sharing your story

Intense, important and well enjoyed, I loved listening to the words the authors own voice on audible