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grouchomarxist's review against another edition
3.0
Let's say that this is a strong 2.5.
First, let me say that Lilia Tarawa is an intelligent, brave young woman who has done a lot of good with her life already. I am genuinely excited to see what else she does in her life to empower others and to expose religious abuse. While reading this book, I watched her TedX talk and the TV interview she did while still in the cult.
Unfortunately, despite her talents and the potential for this book, it is just not engaging. Everything is told, not shown. Instead of a more fluid approach, the narrative progresses in a dogged linear fashion. Some events are clearly glossed over, which represents missed opportunities to illuminate the cult more. There are times when I wish she'd answer obvious questions or flesh out clearly important moments more. She does so towards the end of the book, but the rest is filled with missed opportunities.
I'm glad I got to learn more about this fascinating, bizarre, and horrifying little world, but I do wish reading the book hadn't felt like so much of a chore. I hope Tarawa writes more in the future.
First, let me say that Lilia Tarawa is an intelligent, brave young woman who has done a lot of good with her life already. I am genuinely excited to see what else she does in her life to empower others and to expose religious abuse. While reading this book, I watched her TedX talk and the TV interview she did while still in the cult.
Unfortunately, despite her talents and the potential for this book, it is just not engaging. Everything is told, not shown. Instead of a more fluid approach, the narrative progresses in a dogged linear fashion. Some events are clearly glossed over, which represents missed opportunities to illuminate the cult more. There are times when I wish she'd answer obvious questions or flesh out clearly important moments more. She does so towards the end of the book, but the rest is filled with missed opportunities.
I'm glad I got to learn more about this fascinating, bizarre, and horrifying little world, but I do wish reading the book hadn't felt like so much of a chore. I hope Tarawa writes more in the future.
alexa_gee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.0
A bit all over the place but an insightful memoir. The emotion and heavy topics are respectful while also being moving. I really enjoyed the style of writing as I could hear the voice of the confused child trying to understand her world.
Highly recommend especially for a Kiwi or Australian.
Highly recommend especially for a Kiwi or Australian.
ihavenoshelfcontrol's review against another edition
4.0
I admire Lilia so much for having the courage to write this book. It was very eye opening and quite heart warming as well. I really enjoyed the last part of the book where she shared her advice and how she overcame the demons of her past, some of her self help things i will be taking on board. well done!
smutfortwo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
4.0
This is a memoir of Lillia Tarawa’s life growing up in a New Zealand cult called Gloriavale that was incredibly strict and religious. We get some history about how it started but we don't get a lot about the allegations around her grandfather and his jail time and some of the darker aspects. Because everything is from her perspective and she was able to transition out of the cult around age 18, she missed a lot of the really awful things. This was a really interesting read I enjoyed it a lot.