"A tremendous story of grit and determination."
—Julia Scheeres, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus Land
"A painful and propulsive memoir delivered in the honest tones of a woman who didn’t always think she’d live to tell her story." —The New York Times
"Mestyanek Young searingly captures the fear and intensity that were her constant companions in the Children of God, and she draws smart parallels between the dogmatic 'indoctrination' she encountered in both the cult and the Army . . . Readers won’t be able to put down this harrowing and enthralling memoir."
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
“Affecting … and a deft portrait of the dangers of blindly following leaders of whatever stripe.” —Kirkus Reviews
"Unflinching and powerful . . . a story of resilience and survival that will stay with you long after you finish." —Buzzfeed
“Uncultured vividly cautions readers to choose a group in which you can be yourself—and be free.” —Bookpage (starred)
"Daniella Mestyanek Young’s searing memoir elegantly and intricately intertwines the worlds of religious cult and military, brilliantly displaying their similarities in a way that is as undeniable as it is disturbing. It is a brutal, necessary look at the inherent ways institutions attempt to confine women to limiting roles. Ultimately, it’s a story of resilience and Mestyanek Young’s ability to place one boot in front of the other in the face of the unimaginable."
—Ryan Leigh Dostie, author of Formation and US Army veteran
"Page-turner is an understatement for Daniella Mestyanek Young's Uncultured, a gripping memoir of resilience, courage, grief, and the hope that comes when a woman knows her true worth."
—Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber, award-winning author of Queering the American Dream
"Uncultured is brutally honest . . . the unrelenting, innate resiliency that Daniella brings to life from a very early age makes us consider “Where does resiliency come from?” Her resolve to break her captor’s chains, whether in the Children of God, the US Army or her personal relationships is at the heart of this well-written and engaging memoir."
—Tammy Smith, Major General, US Army (Retired)
"Uncultured gives readers the page-turning of a thriller with the heart and exploration of a memoir.”
—New York Times bestselling author Taylor Stevens
"Powerful. Gripping. Sobering. Hopeful. I couldn’t put it down. Uncultured is not only a memoir, but a cautionary tale for our time—and all times. In the end, we understand the resilience of the human spirit . . . how, despite the worst circumstances of our pasts, we are not prisoners to them."
—Ruth E. Van Reken, co-author of Third Culture Kids and co-founder of Families in Global Transition
"This book is a must-read that exposes the rampant and horrifying abuse of children raised in cults—and the unimaginable strength and courage of those children, like Daniella, who get out and survive and eventually thrive. With clarity, honesty and heartfelt emotion, she educates us not only about cults, but also about the similarities of coercive control in some of our most respected social institutions."
—Janja Lalich, Ph.D., professor and author of Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships
2022-08-03
Goal-oriented, driven, and often betrayed, the author recounts time spent in the twin cults of centrifugal Christianity and the American military.
“The first rule of cults is you are never in a cult,” writes Mestyanek Young, who grew up in the communal world of the Children of God, led by a self-styled prophet who gathered a group of young followers whom he thought of “as sheep, in need of a shepherd.” Moving from country to country—Brazil, Mexico, Japan—a step ahead of the authorities, the group, as described by the author, was both strict in discipline and extremely free-wheeling in matters of sex, especially sex with minors. As a young teenager, the author broke free, attended college, and married at 21, briefly settling into a relationship that was problematic even years after her divorce. She also joined the U.S. Army, which had many of the cultish ingredients of her youth, especially the view that “as a woman, you’re either a bitch, a slut, or a dyke.” Even so, and despite her revulsion at superior officers’ defense of torture, Mestyanek Young excelled in leadership skills, working in intelligence in Afghanistan. “I was sure I could be a part of the army but not owned by it, that a person could have brains and independent, innovative thoughts” she writes, quickly adding, “I was wrong.” When she ran afoul of the command structure, her career ground to a halt. The author recounts her story in a series of episodes that become repetitive in the reading even as it’s clear that she was treated unjustly, at least by civilian standards. In the end, her message is compelling: A cult is a cult, she writes, and being a member makes it easy “to hate, harm, even kill because we are the good guys.”
Affecting, if a touch long, and a deft portrait of the dangers of blindly following leaders of whatever stripe.
