Not Without My Sister: The True Story of Three Girls Violated and Betrayed

Exciting, devastating, sad, amazing, powerful, emotional, triumphant and TRUE!!! A great read.

I have read this book twice. Very tastefully written about such a difficult, painful, and truly terrifying subject.

I was very touched by this book. i cried as i read it, remembering what i too have been thru in this group. i grew up with many of the same abusers and lived in the same country, even living with Celeste and Julie off and on. (Hi girlies!!). i want to state for the record and in their support that despite what others in this group mention, how these things never happened to them...these things did happen, and they happened to me, and i happen to know it happened to them as well. i congratulate them for having the guts to put these things out, to make the public aware of things that can happen. i love you girls, and am so proud of you. ..your friend, Kat

This book is a very rational account of three people's personal experiences of a very difficult childhood. Despite the outrageous liberties that were taken with their minds and bodies by adults in the organisation within which they grew up, the authors manage to wite a very balanced, rational account which comes across clearly that they do not have an axe to grind but are simply telling their story in the hope that people will question and think hard about extreme religious organisations. The book is carefully researched in terms of the history of the children of god, and succintly written without dwelling on the 'trauma' of the experience. The authors draw on only what they know and experienced themselves. The voices of the three girls come through clearly, intertwined with their adult selves. What surprised me was the level of forgiveness they express towards their parents, who come across as drifting souls who were sucked into a cult that gave them the feeling of structure to their lives, and a sensation of importance, especially in the case of the father. The girls come across as positive and determined to move forward. The book is not a navel gazing searching for the reasons why their lives are bad, it is a clear thinking, well written account of what they actually experienced. I learned a lot. read it, if only to realise the blessings that you experienced in your own childhood

This book does an excellent job of capturing, in a matter-of-fact narrative delivered in unembellished prose, a picture of what it was like to have been born circa the 70's to parents who joined the "Children of God" cult (which now goes by "The Family International"), and to have been raised there. Although I grew up in "Family" cult communes in another continent half a world away, not knowing the authors (except for seeing videos and pictures of Celeste Jones at Music With Meaning, which the cult published and circulated), as I read "Not Without my Sister" I recognized the various directives from the cult leaders' "letters" that the authors mentioned - and the unfortunately mirrored consequences when the adults around us implemented those directives on me and the other children around me. So many of the incidents that the 3 authors recount and the trademark environments, atmosphere and modus operandi during the various phases of the cult's history, echo uncannily with what I experienced and saw when I was confined in that insular world. Like the authors as children, it was the only world I had ever known; escape from servitude and a better future seemed impossible dreams. I think the authors handled particularly effectively the challenge of communicating, in a direct and almost conversational manner notably devoid of melodramatics, a child's inner experience of confusion and entrapment in the face of cult-approved and sponsored molestation and exploitation delivered by the perpetrators in tones of religious devotion and of being all "sweetness and light". Disabling distress is felt when one has no other frame of reference to confirm the unruly feelings that all was not well, feelings that went against something we were raised to think was "of God" while surrounded only by grown-ups who embraced that ethos (or were not sufficiently concerned about us children to confront it). I should note for others raised in that cult that the reading brought back so much of what I experienced and saw that at times the painful memories were too much to continue and I had to put the book down for a time. If, on the other hand, you are unfamiliar with the cult, you may wonder why I would continue reading when that was the case. This brings me to one reason why it is so important that a book has finally been written about childhoods in a cult that has sunk enormous efforts and resources into rewriting its history (aided by certain "academic" types and others that have come within its sphere of influence) in its pursuit of recognition, acceptance and the resulting financial success it craves, all while being unwilling to make reparations to the children who were abused by it. There is a source of pain far greater than bad memories, which can be lethal to sanity and hope: being told that what you remember did not happen, that you are crazy, that you are lying. It is maddening enough when it is various perpetrators; it is absolutely devastating when it

After reading this book I realise just how lucky I have been and how happy my own childhood was. I have no connection to this cult and simply came across this book on a recommended reading section of a friend's website. It is a fantastic insight into a world find hard to believe exists in this days and age. I was astounded by some of this books content. The courage the three authors have shown in exposing what they had to endure as children has to be acknowledged and I admire all three for this. This book is well written and makes for a very emotional read. I'm only a few years older then the three sisters who wrote this book and have two young children of my own. As a parent I found it very hard to understand the virtual abandonment of children that happened a lot in this cult along with the level of abuse these young children had to endure. I would highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys well written true life story's but be prepared for a highly emotional read.

If you only read one book about The Family/Children of God cult, make it this one. A number of books about this new religious movement have been published but until now there has never been one that told the story of the children raised in it from their own perspective. Over the years, I've read just about everything that has ever been published about this organization, which I also was raised in, and I can honestly say that this is the best book ever written on the subject. It is very well-written and, despite the challenges undoubtedly created by having three co-authors, the narrative flow is cohesive. Because the co-authors left the organization at different points in its history, their story provides great insight into the experiences of children born and raised in The Family over time. Together, their stories provide first-hand accounts of what it was like to grow up in this organization from the 1970s all the way up to 2005. This is a difficult book to read. It contains accounts of horrific acts of child abuse done in the name of God and love. There were parts that made me cry. But I'm glad they had the courage to write this book and tell the truth about what happened to them.