Uncultured: A Memoir

Written by Daniella Mestyanek Young

Narrated by Daniella Mestyanek Young

"It’s a dark story that forced me to think more expansively about what constitutes a cult." —The New York Times' Ernesto Londoño

"Although this is Mestyanek Young’s first time narrating, listeners will appreciate hearing this deeply personal story told by the author herself. Share with fans of Tara Westover’s Educated and Deborah Feldman’s Unorthodox. Memoir readers will want to check this one out." —Library Journal

"A painful and propulsive memoir delivered in the honest tones of a woman who didn’t always think she’d live to tell her story." —The New York Times

This program is read by the author.

In the vein of Educated and The Glass Castle, Daniella Mestyanek Young's Uncultured is more than a memoir about an exceptional upbringing, but about a woman who, no matter the lack of tools given to her, is determined to overcome.

Behind the tall, foreboding gates of a commune in Brazil, Daniella Mestyanek Young was raised in the religious cult The Children of God, also known as The Family, as the daughter of high-ranking members. Her great-grandmother donated land for one of The Family’s first communes in Texas. Her mother, at thirteen, was forced to marry the leader and served as his secretary for many years. Beholden to The Family’s strict rules, Daniella suffers physical, emotional, and sexual abuse—masked as godly discipline and divine love—and is forbidden from getting a traditional education.

At fifteen years old, fed up with The Family and determined to build a better and freer life for herself, Daniella escapes to Texas. There, she bravely enrolls herself in high school and excels, later graduating as valedictorian of her college class, then electing to join the military to begin a career as an intelligence officer, where she believes she will finally belong.

But she soon learns that her new world—surrounded by men on the sands of Afghanistan—looks remarkably similar to the one she desperately tried to leave behind.

Told in a beautiful, propulsive voice and with clear-eyed honesty, Uncultured explores the dangers unleashed when harmful group mentality goes unrecognized, and is emblematic of the many ways women have to contort themselves to survive.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Sep 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781250870728

Daniella Mestyanek Young

DANIELLA MESTYANEK YOUNG is an American author and speaker who was raised in the religious cult, Children of God. She later served as an intelligence officer for the US Army for over six years, making the rank of Captain, and became one of the first women in US Army history to conduct deliberate ground combat operations when she volunteered to serve on a Female Engagement Team. Daniella is also the recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Medal. Daniella lives with her husband and daughter in Maryland, and is a candidate for a Master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the Harvard Extension School.

Reviews for Uncultured

[Danis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Powerful just powerful wow! Thank you Daniella for being you

[Jezzyka Arroyo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love, love, LOVE this book! Didn’t give it 13 stars cause it wasn’t an option.

[Lexie Joseph · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

That is the most impactful book I have ever read. I am not alone. We are not alone. There are many of us.

[Brianna Cordi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I met Daniella during our time at Harvard, and always had a fond admiration for the small pieces of her story that she shared. This book was truly moving, a real life application of group psychology and cult culture.

[Kristina Marie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, Daniella did an amazing job writing and narrating her story. It is heartbreakingly beautiful and to listen as she grew and learned through her life was such a privilege. I can honestly see her memoir/life becoming a movie. Daniella you as so strong and thank you so much for letting us read your story!

[Linda James · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Laat week in the middle of October 2022, I got to listen to Daniela read her book/Memior, *"Uncultured."* Excellent listen.
Let me just tell you what I've come to know of her just from listening to her read her book. She's is quite *The BadAss.*
Although she grew up in a different cult then I had, I could relate to so much of her story as she made the connections within her adulthood that related to her upbringing.

[Maria Celeste Martinez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing! An extremely powerful story told by the author herself. So much to reflect and learn from this. I highly recommend it

[Gaynelle Newport · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The beginning of this story was painful to read- but I’m glad I did! The author flashed out her life story in a real and dynamic way- as she led the reader thought her life story.
The help she can give to other trauma survivors cannot be overstated.

[Lisa Kilby · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing narrative - every woman (and man) should read her story - if you’re a woman you know this is true…