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Sex Cult Nun
- Breaking Away from the Children of God, a Wild, Radical Religious Cult
- Narrated by: Jaime Lamchick
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Educated meets The Vow in this story of liberation and self-empowerment - an inspiring and stranger-than-fiction memoir of growing up in and breaking free from the Children of God, an oppressive, extremist religious cult.
Faith Jones was raised to be part of a religious army preparing for the End Times. Growing up on an isolated farm in Macau, she prayed for hours every day and read letters of prophecy written by her grandfather, the founder of the Children of God. Tens of thousands of members strong, the cult followers looked to Faith’s grandfather as their guiding light. As such, Faith was celebrated as special and then punished doubly to remind her that she was not.
Over decades, the Children of God grew into an international organization that became notorious for its alarming sex practices and allegations of abuse and exploitation. But with indomitable grit, Faith survived, creating a world of her own - pilfering books and teaching herself high school curriculum. Finally, at age 23, thirsting for knowledge and freedom, she broke away, leaving behind everything she knew to forge her own path in America.
A complicated family story mixed with a hauntingly intimate coming-of-age narrative, Faith Jones’ extraordinary memoir reflects our societal norms of oppression and abuse while providing a unique lens to explore spiritual manipulation and our rights in our bodies. Honest, eye-opening, uplifting, and intensely affecting, Sex Cult Nun brings to life a hidden world that’s hypnotically alien yet unexpectedly relatable.
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What listeners say about Sex Cult Nun
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Lara
- 12-03-21
An absolute page-turner
As someone who previously worked for a cult-like company and was with an abusive, narcissistic partner prior, the blatant brainwashing and manipulation Faith tells about in the book sounded so familiar.
Faith is a master storyteller and writes with such clarity and detail that it felt as if I was in her shoes, as she recalls her life experiences in the Children of God.
It takes such a strong person to be able to heal from such childhood. It felt like a horror story was unfolding before me as I listened. And it's heartbreaking that this reality exists.
Faith has done a phenomenal job shedding light on what goes on in cults, and why it's tough to get people out once they're in. There is such a complex, twisted dynamic that keep these structures in place, and managing to get out is half the battle. Between leaving a cult and rebuilding one's own identity, there's this chasm that you have to cross — the loneliness of leaving loved ones and parts of yourself behind, the questioning of truth, the anger, the limbo, the grief, and then finally, if and when it comes, the healing and rebuilding.
6 people found this helpful
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Story
- Elizabeth Stoyer
- 01-08-22
Shocked things like this occur in our world
Heard Faith’s interview on NPR and couldn’t wait to read this book. It did not disappoint!
3 people found this helpful
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Performance
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- Hallie
- 12-21-21
So interesting
Really enjoyed this book. Very interesting and educational. What a sad, scary life and I’m glad she was able to get out of The Family.
3 people found this helpful
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Story
- Michelle Cole
- 09-16-22
Wow!
I couldn't stop listening to this. The things some people put themselves and their family through is ridiculous. Praying for all that has gone through this and are still going through this.
2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 08-26-22
I DIDNT WANT THE BOOK TO END!!
Wow what a great story, towards the end I wanted to cry because I compared what she went through to what she accomplished!!
ahhh I just got goosebumps
1 person found this helpful
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Performance
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- jaye
- 06-04-22
the book was too long.
I think the book was way too long. a lot of the stuff was too repetitive. the story would have been better shorter. one thought I had about Grandpa was that he was dead a long time ago. that when things started to change it is because there was a power struggle going on. I wish that was explained in the book but I guess the author did not know.
the reader was tiresome to listen to. but it was an ok story.
1 person found this helpful
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- Sybas
- 05-06-22
Snuck up on me as a favorite!
I chose this book based off the title expecting and interesting story not even reading the description, I got more than that. I wouldn't even know where to begin in describing what I found. The shocking entertainment & knowledge in this story. Definitely recommended.
1 person found this helpful
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- Katie Weiss
- 04-09-22
Good book, but the title doesn’t fit the story
This cult is so extreme. Their practices are so damaging to children. The author deserves accolades for navigating her way to a better life.
Not sure the title encapsulates the story at all.
1 person found this helpful
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- anonymous
- 03-07-22
Not great!
The performance and reading were great! However, the content too graphic for someone affected by sexual abuse. Didnt finish.
1 person found this helpful
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- joey carbo
- 02-25-22
Terrible
There’s nothing here. The story is over by chapter two and you get corny, cutesie recollections of childhood for what seems like an eternity. I couldn’t get any farther. I assume she leaves the cult, lol.
1 person found this helpful
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Story
Right under the noses of neighbors, clients, spouses, children, and friends, a secret society, simply called School—a cult of snared Manhattan professionals—has been led by the charismatic, sociopathic, and dangerous leader Sharon Gans for decades. Spencer Schneider was recruited in the eighties, and he stayed for more than twenty-three years as his life disintegrated, his self-esteem eroded, and he lined the pockets of Gans and her cult.
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Beautiful and intriguing story
- By Holly on 07-10-22
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Don't Call It a Cult
- The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM
- By: Sarah Berman
- Narrated by: Ewa Wolniczek
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Investigative journalist Sarah Berman explores the shocking practices of NXIVM, a cult run by Keith Raniere and many enablers. Through the accounts of central NXIVM figures, Berman uncovers how dozens of women seeking creative coaching and networking opportunities instead were blackmailed, literally branded, near-starved, and enslaved. Don't Call It a Cult is a riveting account of NXIVM's rise to power, its ability to evade prosecution for decades, and the investigation that finally revealed its dark secrets to the world.
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Detailed (best for those already interested)
- By JR on 05-02-21
By: Sarah Berman
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Scarred
- The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life
- By: Sarah Edmondson, Kristine Gasbarre
- Narrated by: Sarah Edmondson
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The shocking and subversive memoir of a 12-year-NXIVM-member-turned-whistleblower, and her inspiring true story of abuse, escape, and redemption. "Master, would you brand me? It would be an honor." Scarred follows actress Sarah Edmondson's account of her recruitment into the NXIVM cult, founded by Keith Raniere. It narrates in detail the 12 years she spent within the organization, during which she enrolled over 2,000 members, chronicling her breaking point and her harrowing fight to get out, help others, and heal.
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Riveting!
- By Ellen on 10-23-19
By: Sarah Edmondson, and others
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Cults
- Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them
- By: Max Cutler
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli, Raquel Beattie, Erin Ruth Walker, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong; to find a deeper meaning in life; to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.
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Informative insight into the mind of people.
- By Craig J Walker on 09-15-22
By: Max Cutler
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Rajneeshpuram
- Inside the Cult of Bhagwan and Its Failed American Utopia
- By: Russell King
- Narrated by: Russell King
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1981, ambitious young Ma Anand Sheela transported the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh to the United States to fulfill his dream of creating a utopia for his thousands of disciples. Four years later, the incendiary Rajneeshpuram commune in Oregon collapsed under the weight of audacious criminal conspiracies hatched in its inner sanctum, including the largest bioterrorism attack in US history, an unprecedented election fraud scheme, and multiple attempted murders. Rajneeshpuram explores how this extraordinary spiritual community went so wrong.
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Excellent book!!
- By Lisa on 03-27-22
By: Russell King
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Broken Faith
- Inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, One of America's Most Dangerous Cults
- By: Mitch Weiss, Holbrook Mohr
- Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1979, a fiery preacher named Jane Whaley attracted a small group of followers with a promise that she could turn their lives around. In the years since, Whaley’s following has expanded to include thousands of congregants across three continents. Based on hundreds of interviews, secretly recorded conversations, and thousands of pages of documents, Pulitzer Prize winner Mitch Weiss and Holbrook Mohr’s Broken Faith is a terrifying portrait life inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, and the harrowing account of one family who escaped after two decades.
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A must read!
- By laura toney on 03-22-20
By: Mitch Weiss, and others
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Captive
- A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult
- By: Catherine Oxenberg, Natasha Stoynoff
- Narrated by: Catherine Oxenberg
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2011, Catherine joined her daughter, India, at a leadership seminar for a new organization called NXIVM. Her 20-year-old daughter was on the threshold of building a new company, and they both thought this program might help her achieve her dream. But quickly, Catherine saw a sinister side to what appeared to be a self-help organization designed to help its clients become the best versions of themselves. Catherine watched in horror as her daughter fell further and further down the rabbit hole, becoming brainwashed by the organization’s charismatic leader.
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Not as good as a I hoped....
- By Fallon Martin on 11-12-19
By: Catherine Oxenberg, and others
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Uncultured
- A Memoir
- By: Daniella Mestyanek Young
- Narrated by: Daniella Mestyanek Young
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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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. At fifteen years old, fed up with The Family and determined to build a better and freer life for herself, Daniella escapes to Texas. 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.
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Do not recommend the second half.
- By Anonymous Reader on 10-02-22
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Slonim Woods 9
- A Memoir
- By: Daniel Barban Levin
- Narrated by: Jay Myers
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In September 2010, at the beginning of the academic year at Sarah Lawrence College, a sophomore named Talia Ray asked her roommates if her father could stay with them for a while. No one objected. Her father, Larry Ray, was just released from prison, having spent three years behind bars after a conviction during a bitter custody dispute.
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Harrowing
- By Joshua on 09-19-21
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Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out
- By: Rick Alan Ross
- Narrated by: Daniel Adam Day
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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You’ve seen them in movies and on TV, but cults are more prevalent than you think - and they’re armed with strategies that can brainwash and persuade even the most unlikely of candidates. But how do individuals get involved with cults in the first place, and what steps can be taken to “deprogram” and heal those who have been drawn into these damaging groups? These questions and more are addressed in Cults Inside Out, written by leading cult expert Rick Alan Ross.
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Informative and interesting read!
- By Amazon Customer on 07-15-21
By: Rick Alan Ross
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Daughter of Gloriavale
- My Life in a Religious Cult
- By: Lilia Tarawa
- Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In this personal account, Lilia Tarawa exposes the shocking secrets of the cult, with its rigid rules and oppressive control of women. She describes her fear when her family questioned Gloriavale's beliefs and practices. When her parents fled with their children, Lilia was forced to make a desperate choice: to stay or to leave. No matter what she chose, she would lose people she loved.
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Eye opening
- By Bbrenda Pinkforeva Diaz on 01-25-23
By: Lilia Tarawa
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Do As I Say
- How Cults Control, Why We Join Them, and What They Teach Us About Bullying, Abuse and Coercion
- By: Sarah Steel
- Narrated by: Sarah Steel
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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At the heart of being human is the desire to belong. It can make us unspeakably vulnerable to the manipulations of others. Cult leaders prey on this desire, but so do many unscrupulous operators hiding in plain sight. Sarah Steel, the creator of the popular 'Let's Talk About Sects' podcast, has researched the cults you've heard of—and dozens you haven't. What strikes her most are not the differences between bizarre cult behaviour and 'normal' behaviour but the depressing similarities. Her work reveals that we are all susceptible to the power of cult dynamics.
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Super informative