A University Park author’s new memoir of growing up in the infamous Children of God religious cult has already gained national attention, including a chapter which was recently published in Rolling Stone magazine.
Daniella Mestyanek Young’s “Uncultured,” which comes out this Tuesday, has been named by the New York Post and BuzzFeed as one of the top books hitting shelves this fall.
Started in California in the 1960s, the Children of God — now known as The Family International — fused the counterculture with Christianity to form communes that have been accused of abusive and predatory practices.
Young, a third-generation member of the cult, escaped at age 15, putting herself through high school, becoming valedictorian and joining the U.S. Army as an intelligence officer.
She was sent to Afghanistan twice, serving as one of the first women deliberately put into ground combat for the first time in Army history, which led to the repeal of the ban on combat roles for women.
Young is now studying organizational psychology at the Harvard Extension School, and her memoir draws on the parallels she saw between her time in the cult, her military service and other aspects of modern life.
She will hold a book launch at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 26, at Politics & Prose at 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW in D.C.
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