Girl at the End of the World: My Escape from Fundamentalism in Search of Faith with a Future by Elizabeth Esther

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Those that know me know that I’m eternally fascinated with little things in human culture. The biggest thing about human culture that has always fascinated me is faith. I picked up this book as a first read from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group because I’m interested to see why people turn to fundamentalism in anything, what drives them away, and how they heal. I read this book with this perspective and wrote the review with this in mind.

Summary
This is the story of Elizabeth Esther‘s childhood through young adulthood within The Assembly. Elizabeth details the emotional, physical and spiritual abuse she grew up with, how it affected her then, and how it affects her now.

Elizabeth’s raw feelings come through from page one when she opens with a street preaching scene at the age of 9, and relates how fundamentalists view heckling — a prize to be won in order to earn the love of their parents and the love of their god. She takes you through this emotional train-wreck through trainings in hyper-survivalism in case of the end of the world, irrational views on disciplining children, and even more irrational views on human roles within the world. Through all this, you sense that you are hearing the thoughts of a child who was stripped of their childhood, only to have it replaced with beatings and brainwashings. While this could be anyone’s story, it’s special because Elizabeth is the granddaughter of the founder of The Assembly. The story shows how they treat their own even worse than an outsider as to not show favouritism.

Elizabeth, like few others in any cult movement, retained the ability to have an open mind and question silently while obeying a majority of the rules. This was her strength for being able to eventually see a way to her way out. She did not see her way out for herself, though, but rather her children. She would not break her own children the way that she was broken as a child. This part of the book begins an even more touching memoir of what it takes to breaking the cycle of abuse. It also begins a story of daily struggles and daily healing, as well as the backsliding that comes with it.

This is only the beginning of Elizabeth’s story, though. There are more books to come on how to heal coming from her. I think those will be just as intriguing, though not as accessible to the pop culture that loves to read about dirty laundry.

Thoughts
Tales of abuse stemming from the cultural shift is nothing new. There were lots of cults, lots of hidden secrets, and lots of manipulation and double standards. Each tale coming from these experiences shows the power of a cult, and the abundance of people willing to fall for the schemes in order to feel something. That something could be spiritual, emotional, or even mental; however, the fact that these cults fall apart under their own megalomaniac and egotistical designs is always at the end of the story. It’s sad, really, that nothing can be done to prevent people from falling into these abusive traps. Humans, after all, will always fall into some trap or another in search of something that fulfils them when they are at their weakest and most desperate.

I’m happy that Elizabeth has found a sense of peace in her own way. I may not understand the need to replace one form of organised religion with another, but at least it makes her feel more complete. She is doing what it takes to heal in her own way so she completely breaks the anxiety-driven way of The Assembly, the abusive cycle, and finds hope. And that’s what matters.

Disclaimer
I received this book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I am under no obligation to write a positive review, just an honest one.