Beyond the Cabin

By: Jared Nathan Garrett

Narrated by: Bill Nevitt

Born into a controlling, abusive cult and betrayed by those he trusted, Josh hungers for freedom from the Fundamental Faith in God. After his first escape attempt fails, Josh takes even more solace in a rustic cabin he and his oldest brother made, finding peace in isolation.

After unspeakable tragedy strikes, Josh flounders for hope and anything that will soften the grief threatening to destroy him.

Determined to escape the cult that offers only heartbreak and loneliness, he's stunned by an unexpected connection with one of the other kids in the cult orphanage. That doesn't stop him and he continues to prepare for a final escape.

But when the other kids in the cult need him to protect them and be part of their family, is Josh betraying them by trying to get away?

©2014 Jared Nathan Garrett (P)2017 Jared Nathan Garrett

Unique Coming of Age

Growing up in the Fundamental Faith in God hasn’t fooled Joshua one bit. He knows the life he lives isn’t normal. The most he knows about families comes from the books he reads. His mother has never acted like one. Day in and day out his life revolves around prayer and chores. Most of his day he spends questioning why the adults had the children that they don’t seem to want. When he can, he finds solace by spending time in the woods with his brother Mal. When Mal leaves and ends up getting himself killed, Joshua is left alone to figure out what he should do.

The characters were well-fleshed out. Each of the kids had their own personality and interests which made them stand out from one another. I sometimes found it difficult to connect with Joshua though. At times he was petulant and unruly though I could certainly understand his character arc. It was easy to see why he’d act out and hurt the other kids at times but those times made it hard to root for him. I think I liked the “romantic interest” Mary more. She was sweet and more down to Earth. In a way she was Joshua’s foil.

It was interesting to hear that the author was in a cult and wrote the book based loosely on his experiences. I think that added a personal touch to the characters and story arc that would’ve been otherwise been missing.

Narration was perfect for the story.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Fully recommend.

Love this story. It is well written and very engaging. Cannot wait for the sequel.

Growing up in a cult

I was immediately drawn into this story and didn't want to stop until I knew how it ended. With the great narration, the feelings of loneliness, isolation, mental and physical abuse along with an overall sense of hopelessness really came through. Josh knew his life wasn't normal but at least he had someone he knew cared about him, until his world changed. We ride along with Josh as he grows up in a world of confusion, pain and difficult decisions. This author does a wonderful job of describing the emotions a young man must go through as he struggles for a normal life among a large group of people he knows he can't trust. Bill Nevitt, as always, gives a very good performance as he portrays the emotions Josh is feeling throughout this book. My only issue with this story is I felt like I was listening and then the ending just sort of came without warning. I'm happy there was a little follow up at the end to give me an idea of where Josh went from there. I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

Enjoyable ' becoming an adult' story.

Based on the authors life experiences of growing up in a cult situation, this is a novel comprised by combining the characteristics of different people that were part of his growing up and the highlights of the major life events. Definitely interesting to learn about an area of life that most of us have never experienced but often wonder about. The narration performance was well done and really added to the listening experience. I would recommend this book.

Shocking and Heartwarming at the same time!

This book will leave you feeling all kinds of emotions: anger, sadness, love, friendship, and joy. The author did an excellent job of showing about the cult that Joshua lived in, but making the book about relationships and overcoming hard things. At times I wanted to strangle characters and other times hug them. Listen to/read this if you're looking for a unique perspective on growing up.