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Title:

Sex cult nun : breaking away from the Children of God, a wild, radical religious cult / Faith Jones.

Author:

Jones, Faith (Lawyer), author.

ISBN:

9780062952455

Personal Author:

Jones, Faith (Lawyer), author.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

x, 386 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 24 cm

Content Type:

text

Media Type (RDA):

unmediated

Carrier Type:

volume

Contents:

A (not so brief) history of my family and the Children of God -- The great escape! -- Watch out for snakes -- It takes a village -- Don't work for money, honey -- Train up a child -- Heavenly houris -- A change in attitude -- My sister is a Jesus baby -- Farm life -- Burn after reading -- It's a teen revolution! -- The silent coup -- The grand experiment -- Suffering makes you bitter or better -- The land of much too much -- The new kid in the class -- Gentling and breaking -- Education is power -- Breaking the rules -- All for one means none for you -- Long live the Prophet -- Meeting the prince -- The breaking -- Pretending is the first step to being -- The big decision -- Suffering is never godly -- On my own -- Knowledge and truth -- Never give up -- The truth will set you free -- Epilogue: I own me.

Abstract:

In a story of liberation and self-empowerment, the author shares her hauntingly intimate coming-of-age narrative of growing up in and escaping from the Children of God, an oppressive, extremist religious cult.

Growing up on an isolated farm in Macau, Jones was raised to be part a religious army preparing for the End Times. Thousands of members strong, the cult followers of the Children of God looked to her grandfather as their guiding light. Over decades the Children of God became notorious for its alarming sex practices and allegations of abuse and exploitation. When Jones broke away, at age twenty-three, she left behind everything she knew to forge her own path in America. Her memoir reflects our societal norms of oppression and abuse while providing an exploration of spiritual manipulation and our rights in our bodies. -- adapted from jacket

Personal Subject:

Jones, Faith (Lawyer)-Childhood and youth.

Berg, David, 1919-1994-Family.

Subject Term:

Children of God (Movement) -- Biography.

Cult members -- Biography.

Ex-cultists -- United States -- Biography.

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Biographies.

Format:

Books

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Library	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Batavia - Richmond Memorial Library	34020004053532	B JONES	Searching... Unknown
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Searching... Niagara Falls - LaSalle Branch Library	34305011571067	B JONES	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Niagara Falls Public Library	34305011516716	B JONES	Searching... Unknown
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Summary

Named a Best Book of 2021 by Newsweek and a Most Anticipated by People, TIME, USA Today, Real Simple, Glamour, Nylon, Bustle, Purewow, Shondaland, and more!

Educated meets The Vow in this story of liberation and self-empowerment--an inspiring and stranger-than-fiction memoir of growing up in and breaking free from the Children of God, an oppressive, extremist religious cult.

Faith Jones was raised to be part a religious army preparing for the End Times. Growing up on an isolated farm in Macau, she prayed for hours every day and read letters of prophecy written by her grandfather, the founder of the Children of God. Tens of thousands of members strong, the cult followers looked to Faith's grandfather as their guiding light. As such, Faith was celebrated as special and then punished doubly to remind her that she was not.

Over decades, the Children of God grew into an international organization that became notorious for its alarming sex practices and allegations of abuse and exploitation. But with indomitable grit, Faith survived, creating a world of her own--pilfering books and teaching herself high school curriculum. Finally, at age twenty-three, thirsting for knowledge and freedom, she broke away, leaving behind everything she knew to forge her own path in America.

A complicated family story mixed with a hauntingly intimate coming-of-age narrative, Faith Jones' extraordinary memoir reflects our societal norms of oppression and abuse while providing a unique lens to explore spiritual manipulation and our rights in our bodies. Honest, eye-opening, uplifting, and intensely affecting, Sex Cult Nun brings to life a hidden world that's hypnotically alien yet unexpectedly relatable.

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this outstanding debut, Jones recounts her upbringing in and escape from the infamous cult, the Children of God. Founded by her paternal grandfather, David Brandt Berg, in 1968, the group, later referred to as "the Family," was notorious for its "radical practices," which required members to become full-time missionaries, forgo income, and submit to the "Law of Love," a doctrine which encouraged spouse sharing and sexual relations with children, and used female "disciples" as sex "bait" for followers. By the time Jones was born in Hong Kong in 1977--the seventh child in her parents' polygamous family--the cult had fanned around the globe with around 10,000 members. In thrilling detail, she describes a childhood spent off the grid throughout Southeast Asia--where her family prepared for the "end times," opting for prayer over education--and how, after years of struggling and incidents of sexual abuse, she emancipated herself at age 23 and, through self-taught study, was later accepted into Berkeley Law school. As Jones transports readers from Macau to Kazakhstan to the United States, Jones skillfully provides the mental framework to understand her past as an indoctrinated individual in hopes of helping others "stand up for themselves." This remarkable account of self-liberation is not to be missed. Agent: Becky Sweren, Aevitas Creative Management. (Nov.)

Kirkus Review

A lawyer and entrepreneur details her experiences growing up in the Children of God as the granddaughter of its founder, David Berg. Serving God was all Jones knew in a home dominated by a missionary father who ruled his two wives and children with a strict hand. Members of a secretive Christian sect that called itself the Family, the author's parents warned of interactions with "Systemites," nonbelievers who wanted "to stop them from doing the Lord's work." That "work," as defined by her "Prophet" grandfather, Berg, was to save souls through the Law of Love, which legitimized sex outside of marriage, justified polygamy, and made all women--including young girls--the sexual property of Family men. Jones, her family, and other church members lived apart from society "like [sexualized] nuns and monks" who witnessed and participated in sex acts from an early age. Berg's communications to his followers became increasingly "militaristic about putting God first" over time as Family leadership crumbled. By the time Jones entered adolescence, couples and families (including the author's own) were split apart, and Jones was forced to move from her home base in Macau to Thailand, the U.S., Kazakhstan, and, later, China. The author began to question the Family and its patriarchal doctrines, especially concerning teen marriage, which made her the target of abusive treatment meant to coerce her into subservience. Education and a love of learning became the road to freedom, and Jones attended Georgetown and UC Berkeley Law School and eventually reconciled with her parents. "It takes my parents more than a decade after leaving the Family before they are willing and able to admit they were wrong," she writes. Complex and richly detailed, the book provides fascinating insights into a secretive religious organization while offering often heartbreaking details about the nature and repercussions of growing up indoctrinated in a cult. A powerful and disturbing memoir. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Faith Jones' memoir of growing up in the Children of God religious cult is shocking and, ultimately, life-affirming. Founded by Jones' paternal grandfather, David Berg, in the late 1960s, the cult (known as "the Family") is hounded by U.S. law enforcement, partially because of their "Law of Love," which includes polygamy, adults having sexual relations with children, and women using sex to lure in converts. As members disperse around the globe, Jones' family lives as missionaries in Hong Kong, where she was born in 1977. For the next 20 years, she lives a life devoted to God and the Mo Letters, publications from Berg containing edicts and warnings about the End Times. The level of abuse is horrifying and while Jones believes, she also questions. As she gets older and experiences a bit of life outside the Family, she longs for an education and through sheer determination is able to break free and even ends up attending law school. An eye-opening account sure to please those who love a good cult book or just a good memoir.

Library Journal Review

In this exceptional debut, Jones recalls growing up within the Children of God cult (founded in 1968 by her grandfather David Berg). Berg's Children of God blended free-spirited hippie ideals with teachings from the Bible--but only those passages he deemed worthy. He and his followers eventually settled in Southeast Asia, primarily Macau, where Jones was raised. Jones recounts the frequent changes in Berg's teachings and the church's rules, and candidly explores the impact of growing up in an environment where women couldn't pick their own sexual partners and girls were groomed for abuse from a young age. The only education Jones received was provided by Berg himself, in the form of letters he periodically sent to each Children of God family. Jones's book is a truly inspirational account of questioning her upbringing (the only life she knew) and becoming a successful lawyer. She writes that her will to succeed pointed her toward a new, independent way of life that she was proud to call her own. VERDICT A must-read memoir of self-discovery and reinvention that readers will find impossible to put down. Pass along to fans of Tara Westover's Educated.--Elizabeth Ragain, Rogers Heritage H.S., Fayetteville, AR

A Note From The Author	p. ix
A (Not So) Brief History of My Family and the Children of God	p. 1
1 The Great Escape!	p. 25
2 Watch Out for Snakes	p. 43
3 It Takes a Village	p. 59
4 Don't Work for Money, Honey	p. 72
5 Train Up a Child	p. 80
6 Heavenly Houris	p. 87
7 A Change in Attitude	p. 98
8 My Sister is a Jesus Baby	p. 107
9 Farm Life	p. 114
10 Burn After Reading	p. 128
11 It's a Teen Revolution!	p. 143
12 The Silent Coup	p. 153
13 The Grand Experiment	p. 158
14 Suffering Makes You Bitter or Better	p. 170
15 The Land of Much too Much	p. 188
16 The New Kid in the Class	p. 209
17 Gentling and Breaking	p. 221
18 Education is Power	p. 230
19 Breaking the Rules	p. 235
20 All for One Means None for You	p. 246
21 Long Live the Prophet	p. 260
22 Meeting the Prince	p. 266
23 The Breaking	p. 271
24 Pretending is the First Step to Being	p. 292
25 The Big Decision	p. 312
26 Suffering is Never Godly	p. 320
27 On My Own	p. 326
28 Knowledge and Truth	p. 344
29 Never Give Up	p. 356
30 The Truth Will Set You Free	p. 356
Epilogue: I Own Me	p. 373
Glossary	p. 383
Acknowledgments	p. 387

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents