Escaping the Cult: One cult, two stories of survival
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Follow the true stories of Juliana, Celeste and Kristina in “Not Without My Sister” as they struggled to flee from a community which denied them formal schooling, mercilessly beat them for unpredictable crimes and even forced them to watch and mimic orgies. When the girls’ mother manages to escape with Kristina, she is determined to return to the place of torture to free her remaining sisters – but will they all make it out together?
In “Born Into the Children of God”, Natacha Tormey is exposed to similar terrors, torn away from her parents to be beaten daily and forced to sing and dance for entertainment in prisons and malls. When Natacha managed to escape at the age of 18, she found herself struggling to come to terms with the world she had left behind, yet unable to fit into the life she had run to. Shocking, moving, but ultimately inspiring, this is Natacha’s full story; both a personal tale of trauma and recovery, and an exposé of the secret world of abuse hidden behind commune walls.
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Natacha Tormey is 29 years old. She was born into The Children of God cult (also known as The Family International or The Family) and grew up in a variety of communes across South East Asia, East Africa and Europe. Her French-born hippy parents joined the cult in their youth, going on to marry and raise 13 children within it.
Natacha finally escaped at the age of 18. Against all odds she has survived and thrived. Today she works as a Human Resources manager, is happily married and lives near London.
Natacha is writing her story under her real name.
Natacha’s co-author Nadene Ghouri is a bestselling author and award-winning journalist and broadcaster.
Kristina, Celeste and Juliana were all born into the cult The Children of God to the same father, David Jones, who remains a member of the organisation. Kristina and Celeste share the same mother. The three girls were separated from each other and their mothers at an early age and lived in various missions throughout the world under the ‘care’ of various foster parents.
Both Kristina and Celeste were eventually able to escape the cult and study psychology at university. Celeste remained in the cult until well into her twenties, when falling pregnant provided the catalyst to make her escape. Juliana is now studying psychology and philosophy and is still in contact with her remaining siblings in the cult.
