The Children of the Children
Robin McMillion
Dec 2025 · Catchings Press Publishers · Narrated by Teri Schnaubelt
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9 hr 4 min
Unabridged
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Eligible
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Can children born into a cult escape?
"For anyone who enjoys ... Margaret Atwood, Emma Cline, and ... the darker corners of American religious history." - Bookshelfie
"Chillingly believable."
"Lays bare the long shadow of belief systems built on control, secrecy, and survival." - Literary Titan Book Award
"Haunting ... Will stay with you like a hymn you heard as a child but didn't understand until you were older and broken and finally quiet enough to listen." - Feathered Quill
Danny Calvert thinks part of American society is about to crash and burn. Capitalism, if he's lucky. But when a college friend dies in jail, he joins an apocalyptic religious cult and begins printing the increasingly dark writings of its charismatic leader. Father Joseph says "unless you become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
But "become like children" means just that. Father Joseph moves his followers to Europe to avoid scrutiny, and controls them such that Danny isn't allowed to marry Deborah, the woman he loves, but is forced to marry someone else. He has children by both women, and they’re as determined to escape the world they grew up in as Danny was to escape his own world years ago.
Set during the last years of the Cold War, and inspired by real events, "The Children of the Children" explores the price that people pay for following a leader who demands unquestioning belief, and the price their children pay to break free.
"For anyone who enjoys ... Margaret Atwood, Emma Cline, and ... the darker corners of American religious history." - Bookshelfie
"Chillingly believable."
"Lays bare the long shadow of belief systems built on control, secrecy, and survival." - Literary Titan Book Award
"Haunting ... Will stay with you like a hymn you heard as a child but didn't understand until you were older and broken and finally quiet enough to listen." - Feathered Quill
Danny Calvert thinks part of American society is about to crash and burn. Capitalism, if he's lucky. But when a college friend dies in jail, he joins an apocalyptic religious cult and begins printing the increasingly dark writings of its charismatic leader. Father Joseph says "unless you become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
But "become like children" means just that. Father Joseph moves his followers to Europe to avoid scrutiny, and controls them such that Danny isn't allowed to marry Deborah, the woman he loves, but is forced to marry someone else. He has children by both women, and they’re as determined to escape the world they grew up in as Danny was to escape his own world years ago.
Set during the last years of the Cold War, and inspired by real events, "The Children of the Children" explores the price that people pay for following a leader who demands unquestioning belief, and the price their children pay to break free.
Can children born into a cult escape?
"For anyone who enjoys ... Margaret Atwood, Emma Cline, and ... the darker corners of American religious history." - Bookshelfie
"Chillingly believable."
"Lays bare the long shadow of belief systems built on control, secrecy, and survival." - Literary Tit...
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