Behind Closed Doors

I saw this on sale, and was interested. It's a book about someone who grew up (and left) the Exclusive Brethren, the NZ branch.

This follows Ngaire Thomas, who was born into the EB, and had a rather reasonable childhood (in so far as an exclusivity based community has). As she became a young woman, she conflicted more with EB priests and their guidelines (they aren't rules). She even married an EB man because she was part of that lifestyle, but still tried to have her own life. Until she (and family) was evicted and she had to start anew in the outside.

While I'm sure the EB would deny any and all charges, they do come across a lot better than they could have been portrayed. This is a story I've come across before, a very insular community, run basically as a cult of personality, while a woman tries to be herself.

From this, it sounds like the EB is imploding. Bon voyage, is all I can say.

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