Daughter of Gloriavale

My Life in a Religious Cult

By: Lilia Tarawa

Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen

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.

In the outside world, Lilia struggled. Would she be damned to hell for leaving? How would she learn to navigate this strange place called "the world"? And would she ever find out the truth about the criminal convictions against her grandfather?

©2017 Lilia Tarawa (P)2021 Tantor

Eye opening

I am in awe of the strength of this entire family as they collectively endured and triumphed over so many impossible obstacles BRAVO HIGHLY RECOMMEND GREAT LISTEN

Hard to turn off!

I watch the TV docuseries first and this was the other side of the coin I was looking for. The narrator’s voice is so soothing yet engaging.

Horrible narrator

The story is interesting, and informative.
But, I found the audible recording of this story hard to listen to. I’m not sure if the narrator was trying to put of a New Zealand accent but whatever they were doing, I wish they weren’t. So many words were mispronounced and I had to do a double take to figure out what they were trying to say.

incredible.

loved listening to this. an inspiring story of an amazing young lady and family. so much strength and gives so much hope

Incredibly disturbing.

I have friends who are in cults in the US. I understand being born into it because it is all you know. I also understand people’s longing to believe in and belong to something greater than themselves. But to willingly give up control over your mind and body, I’ll never understand. It seems to me that it is all fear-driven. I watched the puff piece TV series about Gloriavale and I was truly rattled by the naïveté, the vulnerability of the members of the cult. The whole thing is disturbing.