Leaving Fishers (1997) is a young adult novel written by Margaret Peterson Haddix centering on a high school girl, Dorry Stevens, and her descent into and escape from a religious cult called The Fishers of Men.
Leaving Fishers (1997) is a young adult novel written by Margaret Peterson Haddix centering on a high school girl, Dorry Stevens, and her descent into and escape from a religious cult called The Fishers of Men.
Haddix's inspiration for Leaving Fishers was a newspaper article she had written about a local church that was accused of being a cult. She decided to write about a teenage girl who had left a cult-like religion, and explored what would draw her to such a group. [1] Because of the book's religious angle, Haddix said it was particularly difficult to write. [2]
Dorry Stevens, a lonely new transfer to Indianapolis, is befriended by a group of attractive and attentive young classmates who invite her to a number of church functions. Their warm welcome has quite an effect on her, and she is soon baptized into her new faith at a Fishers retreat.
After returning from the retreat, Dorry finds out that her mother has had a heart attack. Her family life becomes more difficult as bad grades pile up and pressure increases from the Fishers for her to gain "virtue" points and abstain from sin. Eventually, after a particularly bad incident concerning children she babysits, she leaves the oppressive cult and forms her own group of "Seekers", those hollowed from their experiences in Fishers. Her faith in God remains strong, and she considers herself to be searching for the truth.
The book was praised by young adult fiction reviewers. Kirkus Reviews described it as "tightly written, with well-drawn characters, and demonstrating insight into the psychology of belief and affiliation." [3] Publishers Weekly called the book's greatest strength Haddix's "even-handed portrayal" of religious subject matter, [4] and Ed Sullivan of Booklist praised the book's deeper treatment of crises of faith. [5]
David Brandt Berg, also known as King David, Mo, Moses David, Father David, Dad, or Grandpa to followers, was the founder and leader of the cult most often known as the Children of God and more recently known as known as The Family International. Berg's group, founded in 1968 among the counterculture youth in Southern California, gained notoriety for incorporating sexuality into its spiritual message and recruitment methods. Berg and his organization have subsequently been accused of a broad range of sexual misconduct, including child sexual abuse.
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