Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult

Lilia Tarawa was raised in an isolated community in New Zealand started by her grandfather, called Gloriavale. Inspired by the Amish in the US, he implemented communal living, strict gender roles and even identical uniforms for its members. The numbers grew rapidly, especially since birth control wasn’t allowed. Lilia showed promise in leadership skills as a chiId, but was quickly shot down in an hours long public shaming by her own grandfather. When her friends were being arranged to marry men they didn’t know or like, she realized she needed to escape. Learn how her whole family was able to leave Gloriavale and struggled they faced afterwards.

Watch our follow up LIVE with Lilia: https://www.youtube.com/live/24ajRC6sL74?si=UMriG1T7u1ewwXCb

Watch Virginia "Ginny" Courage discuss her time in Gloriavale: https://youtu.be/qb-9yBL2sXQ?si=IN9SPKXu7q2B99lf

Book: “Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult”
https://amzn.to/3MUD7zd

Find Lilia on social media!

Podcast: “Brandbreaker with Lilia Tarawa”
https://open.spotify.com/show/3IM81LperO0ILaN5SPdPca?si=45a433c9b4c54448
TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@liliatarawa
FB: https://www.facebook.com/msliliatarawa
IG: https://www.instagram.com/liliatarawa/


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Chapter Marks

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:52 Gloriavale explained
00:06:24 Life in the commune
00:13:11 Positive experiences growing up
00:19:27 Seeing problems in retrospect
00:25:40 Justifying ab*se within the group
00:31:13 Hierarchy within the group
00:35:13 Healthcare within the community
00:42:38 Education
00:53:57 Arranged marriage
01:01:35 Why her family decided to leave
01:07:27 Deconstruction after leaving
01:13:57 Backlash after leaving
01:17:24 What helped Lilia become who she is today
01:19:58 Triggers
01:27:28 What brings Lilia joy today
01:29:52 Linda, listen

**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**