Daniella Mestyanek Young

In the vein of Educated and The Glass Castle, 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. Beholden to The Family's strict rules, Daniella suffered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse--masked as godly discipline and divine love--and was 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 escaped to Texas, bravely enrolled herself in high school, and excelled. She later elected to join the military, where she believed she would finally belong. But she soon learned that her new world--surrounded by men on the sands of Afghanistan--was 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 tocontort themselves to survive.

You're probably in a cult. You just don't know it yet. In The Culting of America, cult survivor, military veteran, and bestselling author of Uncultured, Daniella Mestyanek Young delivers a gripping investigation into the hidden structures of power and control that shape our lives. Raised in the notorious sex cult the Children of God, Daniella escaped to America as a teenager--only to find herself drawn into another high-control institution: the U. S. Army. Years later, as a Harvard-trained expert in organizational psychology, she began asking a radical question: What if we're all in cults? Blending personal narrative, cultural critique, and deep research, Young--together with award-winning author Amy Reed--introduces the cultiness spectrum: a ten-part framework for identifying how coercive group behavior shows up in spaces we trust, from extremist sects to corporate offices, political movements, social media communities, and beyond. You'll never look at group loyalty the same way again. From the glamorized world of Playboy to the mission-driven violence of the military, from wellness culture to partisan politics, The Culting of America reveals how cultish dynamics aren't just surviving in modern life--they're thriving. And they're often hiding in plain sight. With sharp analysis, wit, and unflinching honesty, The Culting of America is both a warning and a guide. It's for anyone who's ever felt trapped in a group they believed in, who's started to question the cost of belonging, or who's ready to reclaim their autonomy without giving up connection. Because the question isn't "Am I in a cult?" It's "What cults am I already in--and what will it cost to leave?"