Girl at the End of the World

February 10, 2014
In a somewhat predictable first memoir, 30-something blogger Esther describes growing up in a fundamentalist cult—her term— called The Assembly. As a child, she learns an “apocalypse survival plan” and is regularly spanked. In Esther’s adolescence, The Assembly’s cracks begin to show. Allowed to go to public high school so that she could convert her peers, Esther realizes that many kids whom her family describes as heathen unbelievers are in fact quite devout, and she is distracted from the straight and narrow by boys. By age 18, Esther feels trapped and sometimes thinks dying would be better than life with her fundamentalist family. Still she perseveres, marrying, at 20, a boy her parents approve of. Five years later, Esther, with her husband and children, leaves The Assembly. A therapist teaches her about disassociation and triggers. Eventually, Esther, by then a mother of seven, connects with Mary, is drawn to Catholicism, and learns about the importance of grace. Esther’s descriptions of her claustrophobic childhood faith are clear and compelling; her account of the faith she found as an adult is, however, less insightful. Agent: Rachelle Gardner, Books and Such Literary Agency.

August 1, 2014

Esther's memoir treads territory fans of her faith-centered blog elizabethesther.com are already familiar with: her childhood in the Assembly, a Christian cult founded by her grandfather George Geftakys and predominantly based in Southern California. The author recounts the severe physical and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her parents and grandparents with re-created dialog. The tone of the book changes when Esther describes her entry into a public high school and how she began slowly to question the Assembly's rigid rules and End Times hysteria. After marrying another member of the group and having children, Esther and her husband left the sect when her grandfather's affairs and other misdeeds were exposed in 2003, ultimately leading to the group's collapse. Despite a rough adjustment to life outside the Assembly, Esther finally found peace and healing through the Catholic Church and made amends with her parents. VERDICT This memoir may bring comfort to those who desire to leave their own churches and provides a fascinating glimpse into this understudied sect of Christianity.--Kate Stewart, American Folklife Ctr., Washington, DC

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