Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult

Written by Lilia Tarawa

Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen

In this personal account, Lilia Tarawa exposes the shocking secrets of the cult, with its rigid rules and oppressive control of women. She describes her fear when her family questioned Gloriavale's beliefs and practices.

When her parents fled with their children, Lilia was forced to make a desperate choice: to stay or to leave. No matter what she chose, she would lose people she loved.

In the outside world, Lilia struggled. Would she be damned to hell for leaving? How would she learn to navigate this strange place called 'the world'? And would she ever find out the truth about the criminal convictions against her grandfather?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Dec 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781666155969

Lilia Tarawa

Lilia Tarawa is a New Zealand writer, speaker, and business coach. She is a member of the Māori Ngāi Tahu tribe. Lilia was born into New Zealand’s infamous religious cult, Gloriavale, and fled with her eleven family members at eighteen years of age. Her extraordinary life experience compelled her to pursue a career promoting human rights, welfare and empowerment. Her TEDx talk, “I Grew Up in a Cult. It Was Heaven—and Hell” has over 5 million views. Tarawa lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. www.liliatarawa.com [twitter] @liliatarawa [Instagram] @liliatarawa [Facebook] @liliatarawa

Reviews for Daughter of Gloriavale

[Anna · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story was very interesting, but as a Kiwi, the narrators accent was very distracting. Some words were pronounced normally, some not, in an unsettling uncanny-valley sort of way that grated on me. Her accent reminded me of Ray Comfort, that silly evangelist friend of Kirk Cameron's, who's from Christchurch but has lived in USA for many years. However, if you're not from NZ, it probably sounds fine.

[zoe alder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an incredible book!!! An amazing insight into a secluded community, Lilia tells her story so well, so many details, I felt like I was a fly on the wall and it is absolutely fascinating and heart breaking. How can this possibly be happening in NZ, we have laws against abuse, yet in this community slavery is happening. We need to set these people free.