Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years As a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult - Hardcover

Williams, Miriam

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688155049 ISBN 13: 9780688155049

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1998

Synopsis

A disturbing account of one woman's experience in a bizarre cult describes her struggle to start anew after years of having sex with strangers in an effort to save their souls

About this title

About the Author

Miriam Williams established a group called Safe Haven, dedicated to helping former cult members cope with life on the "outside," after her own escape from the Children of God. She makes her home in the Southern U.S.

From Kirkus Reviews

What comes across most clearly in this arresting, regret-filled expos from a former ritual prostitute is Williamss own identity strugglea struggle that, she notes, leads many young people into cults. As a young woman, Williams so desperately craved acceptance and self-esteem that she sought it in all of the likely places in the late 1960s (sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll) as well as in the more esoteric ones (a free-love commune that in these more puritanical times we now call a sex cult). What is most valuable about this account is Williamss long tenure with the Children of God. She was nearly a charter member, and 15 years gave her the insight to track the movements development from an offshoot of the Jesus People to a hierarchical personality cult to a sacred prostitution ring. By her third year in the movement, female members were encouraged to fish for potential male recruits by sharing the message of Gods love through sexual intercourse. Based in Europe, particularly in France and Monaco, Williams claims to have had liaisons with many high-ranking men, including the scion of one of the wealthiest families in Greece. But hers was an unhappy life. She faced prejudice by some who thought her motives were less than pure (including ex-Beatle Ringo Starr). She endured a painful separation from her firstborn son, Thor, whose father, a former COG member, had kidnaped Thor to save him from the cults influence. In 1986, Williams discovered that little girls in the COG were being shown sexually explicit material to train them to please men. Fearing for her three daughters, Williams left the cult and eventually brought the whole family to America, where she obtained a college education and established a network of ex-members. An absorbing memoir of life in a controversial religious movement. The appendix discusses the developments in the COG in the several years since Williamss departure. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen) (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0688155049
• ISBN 13: 9780688155049
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 297