Very, very interesting book

This was a very enlightening and absorbing, if at times, disturbing book. I had heard of the Plymouth brethren but not of the Exclusive Brethren. It's always good to hear the author read their own books and particularly this one as it was based on personal memoirs. Rebecca read it well.

Her book has led to me wanting to know more and I'm now watching various documentaries about this so-called church. After hearing so much about him in the book, it was good to see Rebecca's father speaking in the BBC documentary.

These so called Christians are nothing more than power crazy control freaks and over the years have caused so much heartache and misery to families. It's a form of mental abuse indoctrinating people in the way that they do.

This sect/cult is so unchristian and are completely distorting biblical teachings; they are definitely not walking in the footsteps of Jesus and will one day find themselves hearing Him say, 'I never knew you.'

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Worthy

Someone with A level British History and an Art Lit degree wishes to recycle some of her essays. Dull in parts. A bit of virtue and privilege signalling towards the end. Where this book excells is as an account of being a child in a branch of Christianity so strict it morfed into a cult - those straight narratives and internal molologues really matter. And the moral of the story is ... always talk properly to the kids.

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Tragic story of Christianity gone wrong

Beautifully told tale of faith and hypocrisy. The abuse of religion is no adequate reason to ignore what may be true and wonderful within it, but this true family sage is salutary to those who feel their grasp on Christianity is faultless

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Interesting story flatly told

I found this book very trying to get through. Her story telling isn't very compelling which is amazing as her story is astoundingly interesting. I had to work quite hard to see that through how it was delivered. It's not terrible, but it did grate a little on the long haul. It'd have benefitted a great deal from being at least an hour shorter and to concentrate more on her experiences than the long sad fade of her father.

If you're hesitating to get this - you can do better, choose another book!

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2 people found this helpful

Captivating

A fascinating insightful memoir. Having bought the book, and never had time to sit and read it, I bought the audio book to listen to it whilst driving.

On more than one occasion I found myself sitting in my car at the end of my journey, determinedly listening in to the end of the chapter, and then listening to just one more.

Rebecca Stott's reading of her own book takes us right back with her, to different times and the very different world she grew up in. And we're blessed that she's chosen to tell her own - and her father's - story.

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1 person found this helpful

Interesting story

Rebecca Stott writes well and her account of life in a cult is fascinating and frightening. I recommend reading this book.

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Breathtaking, haunting, tragic.

A glimpse into a world resembling Orwell’s 1984, only with religion, and continuing into 2018. What happens when men, drunk with power and self-importance, put themselves above the truth. At the same time it’s a story of love and forgiveness. Being an ex-cult member myself, I found this book was deeply meaningful.

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4 people found this helpful

A moving memoir of childhood

Rebecca Stott both writes and reads beautifully - her memoir of a childhood bound by the rules and regulations of The Brethren is almost unbelievable, when you realise other families are living like this in the UK and other countries today. Her and her family's gradual realisation that things are not as they should be within the hierarchy of the Brethren brings relief tempered with anger and sorrow. Descriptions of her childhood forays into locked rooms, hidden boxes, to try and make sense of her life are wonderfully recounted and it is with relief that, as the reader follows her into adulthood, she emerges as a sane, sensible, gifted writer, relatively un-haunted by the gods and demons of her past. A very interesting book, well worth listening to.

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An enlighteni story for ALL denominations to Hear!

Having been brought up in the Open Brethren by parents who were brought up in the exclusives ,and left when things started to get bad, I find this story very enlightening! It helped me understand attitudes that my Mother in particular brought into my life even though our meeting did not reflect these teachings. It also caused me bitter sweet reflections on the way we 'Peeb' children were constantly terrified of being left behind at the ' Rapture'..... Yet constantly held on to that possibility as an escape if we were in trouble!
I would like to thank the writer for writing it and giving me the courage to get my own story published!
One star less for Overall and Performance because of too much detail of her Father's gambling obsessions!

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1 person found this helpful

Excellent book

A very honest account and a great questioning style. For a Christian reader so sad that a gospel of love was and is so distorted. The patriarchal culture effectively silencing women was questioned but I'd like to see Rebecca explore more. Perhaps another book?

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