Church of Lies
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Narrated by:
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Eve Bianco
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Written by:
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Flora Jessop
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Paul T. Brown
About this listen
From the Preface:
"My name is Flora Jessop. I've been called apostate, vigilante, and crazy bitch, and maybe I am. But some people call me a hero, and I'd like to think they're right too. If I am a hero, maybe it's because every time I can play a part in saving a child or a woman from a life of servitude and degradation, I'm saving a little piece of me, too.
I was one of 28 children born to my dad and his three wives. Indoctrinated to believe that the outside world was evil, and that I resided among the righteous, I was destined to marry a man chosen for me by the Prophet. I would then live in harmony with my sister-wives, bear many children, and obey and serve my future husband in this life and throughout eternity. But my innocence didn't last long. While still a child, I understood that the church of the righteous was nothing but a church of lies.
When I was eight years old my father sexually molested me for the first time, raping me when I was 12. I tried to kill myself. Beaten, molested, taunted, and abused by family members alleging they only wanted to save my soul became a daily routine, I ran from this abuse more than once in my early teens - even attempting to cross the desert on foot. My family hunted me down. I thought government agencies would provide me safety if I reported my father. Instead, police and social services colluded with the FLDS to return me to my family and I ended up back inside polygamy, right where I started."
Flora goes on from there to tell the dramatic true story of how she ultimately escaped and has been fighting against frustrating obstacles with hard-fought successes in rescuing women and children from the FLDS. It's a story you can't put down.
©2009 Flora Jessop and Paul T. Brown (P)2013 Audible, Inc.You may also enjoy...
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Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige, was raised as a Scientologist but left the controversial religion in 2005. In Beyond Belief, she shares her true story of life inside the upper ranks of the sect, details her experiences as a member Sea Org - the church's highest ministry - speaks of her "disconnection" from family outside of the organization, and tells the story of her ultimate escape.
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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. 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.
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What listeners say about Church of Lies
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Heather
- 2024-06-24
The struggle for justice makes a difference
A horrible, vital story… demonstrating all the aspects of abuse and the kind of grit and perseverance it takes to recover from n fight against abuse!
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- Lav
- 2024-06-28
raw, insightful, couldn't turn it off
well written, painfully clear, the authors drive and passion shone through so strongly it made me want to get up and do something. I've read a lot of cult books, and as a cult survivor myself would definitely recommend this as a good one
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- debm
- 2023-11-01
powerful
thank you for the work that you have done to help innocent children and women.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
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- Langer MD
- 2023-11-21
Unintentionally Funny
I actually felt pretty guilty when chortling while listening to this narrative. Anti-polygamy crusader Flora "Jessie" Jessop's story is harrowing and horrifying - involving child sexual abuse, attempted suicide, institutional misogyny, and the systematic denial of ongoing injustices by authorities afraid of inappropriately condemning "alternative religious practices". Many of the events in this indomitable woman's life are infuriating & call for condemnation.. but described in such a way that I caught myself frequently laughing out loud. Surely professional co-author Paul T. Brown recognized that deficiency - but apparently strove to simply do his job & make the book readable.. which he did. It won't win any awards, but 'Church Of Lies' isn't a terrible read. It's just too bad that the content and phraseology had me alternately guffawing and groaning while rolling my eyes.
I have little doubt that the deadpan delivery from narrator Eve Bianco contributes to the hilarity too, however - reading the most ridiculous descriptions with an incongruous matter-of-fact tone and a level of gravitas that *should* have been appropriate given the subject matter. I hold Bianco in esteem for not bursting into giggles while reading text like "My father pulled out his floppy thing - stroking it and then beating it hard until some white stuff came out".
If you can get this oddly chuckleworthy exposé as a "free" selection, do so. It's a great diversion for a couple of quiet afternoons. If Audible asks for a Credit, however, you can do much better than this 3.5/10-star offering.
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1 person found this helpful