Books for Your Journey
Outside of high-control religious groups, questions are encouraged, discussions are welcomed, and considering different perspectives is the norm. You get to decide who you are, what you believe, and how you will live. Reading is not something to be restricted, but rather opens a window to the world.
Below are some books which have been helpful for former members or for those thinking of leaving. Your journey is your own. But, these recommended resources may be useful to you.
Click on a title to link to goodreads.com, where you can learn more about each book and find links to purchase or download those which interest you. Each author’s story, opinions, and views are their own and do not necessarily reflect the values, positions, or policies of Brave Horizons Network.
Memoirs by Former Members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church
Out of Faith: A Mother, a Sect, and a Journey to Freedom, by Maria Compton
Excommunicated: A Multigenerational Story of Leaving the Exclusive Brethren, by Craig Hoyle
Exclusive Legacy by Kate Scarlett
Those Boots were Made for Walking, by Jessie Shedden
Came Out…Kicked Out: Living in and out of the Exclusive Brethren, by Adrian J. Patmore
Don’t Call Me Sister, by Marion Field
Cult Escape: My Journey to Freedom, by John D. Spinks
In the Days of Rain: A Father, a Daughter, a Cult, by Rebecca Stott
Breakout: How I Escaped from the Exclusive Brethren, by David Tchappat
Shut Up Sarah, by Marion Field
Joy & Sorrow , by Joy Nason
The Brethren, by Anne Arnott
CULT-ish: Working in Society’s Fringes, by Christopher P. Bacon
The Exclusive Sinner By James Bell
The Tattoed Saint- Born into a Cult by Kevin Cockburn
Exclusive Pedigree: My Life in and out of the Brethren by John L. Fear, Robert Fear
In the World but Not of it by Brett Grainger
A Brutal way of Learning- Does it have to be? by Jane L. Davidson, Dan Haley
Cast Outside the Camp- N.McCallum, P. McCallum
Books on Trauma, Healing, and Recovery from High-Control Religious Groups
Combatting Cult Mind Control, by Steven Hassan
Behind the Exclusive Brethren, by Michael Bachelard
Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs, by Steven Hassan
Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—From Domestic Abuse to Political Terrorism, by Judith Lewis Herman
Escaping Utopia: Growing Up in a Cult and Starting Over, by Janja Lalich and Karla McLaren
Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships, by Janja Lalich and Madeline Tobias
Recovery from Cults: Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse, by Michael Langone
Losing Reality: On Cults, Cultism, and the Mindset of Political and Religious Zealotry, by Robert Jay Lifton
Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, by Robert Jay Lifton
Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace, by Margaret Thaler Singer
Terror, Love and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems, by Alexandra Stein
Captive Hearts, Captive Minds: Freedom and Recovery From Cults and Other Abusive Relationships, by Madeleine Landau Tobias and Janja Lalich
The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
Memoirs by Former Members of Other High-Control Religious Groups
Apostate: Stories of Deconversion, by Sarah Bacaller
Born and Razed: Surviving the Cult was Only Half the Battle by Beth Granger
Cult Bride: How I Was Brainwashed and How I Broke Free, by Liz Cameron
Crippled Grace: Disability, Virtue Ethics, and the Good Life, by Shane Clifton
Lapsed, by Monica Dux
In Bad Faith, by Dassi Erlich
Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is Taking Over the World, by Elle Hardy
Holy Hell: Saved So Hard I Needed Therapy, by Elise Heerde
Unlearning Obedience: Losing Religion & Finding Myself, by Elise Heerde
Born and Raised in a Sect: You Are Not Alone, by Lois Kendall
The Sentimental Non-Believer: On Loving and Leaving God, by Jane Kennedy
In/Out: A Scandalous Story of Falling Into Love and Out of the Church, by Steph Lentz
Woven: A Faith for the Dissatisfied, by Joel McKerrow
Gutsy Girls: Love, Poetry and Sisterhood, by Josie McSkimming
Leaving Christian Fundamentalism and the Reconstruction of Identity, by Josie McSkimming
Holy Woman: a divine adventure, by Louise Omer
Cult Trip: Inside the World of Coercion & Control, by Anke Richter
A Shattered Sanctuary: From Fellowship to Freedom, by Samantha Sellers
Do As I Say: How Cults Control, Why We Join Them, and What They Teach Us About Bullying, Abuse and Coercion, by Sarah Steel
Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult, by Lilia Tarawa
Speaking in Tongues, by Tom Tilley
A Life of Unlearning: a preacher’s struggle with his homosexuality, church and faith, by Anthony Venn-Brown