Daughters of the Cult

I'm familiar with this story as a reader (and multiple re-reader) of Anna LeBaron's book The Polygymist's Daughter. This isn't just another true crime docuseries. It's a multifaceted look at a compelling story that is told by multiple members of the family who come together with vulnerability, pain, humor, survival, honesty, and growth to tell the story of their lives. You will watch this and walk away with questions. This is a series you will want to watch and rewatch. I watched all the episodes in two nights, and I will be watching them again with my family and friends. My respect and thanks go to the family for telling this difficult story with the vulnerability and bravery that I know it took. You all did an amazing job. I hope that the healing continues.

I've only watched two episodes and I'm hooked. I remember this case well because one of my family members was one of the investigators on the case. He interviewed several of the family members, including Ervil himself, while he was in prison. Of course, he couldn't give me many details, but I think this was that case that drove him to retirement. He also investigated the death of Daniel Ben Jordan. I was just a kid myself. My family member was there at the funeral of Rulon Allred. I'm so grateful that nothing serious happened. He was also part of the investigation of the death of Daniel Ben Jordan and also attended that funeral.

I appreciate and was most impressed by the resiliency of Ervil's children who came forward to share this harrowing tale.

A legendary cult monster and the children that escaped. This is their heroic story! You should also read the book, "The Polygamist's Daughter" as well as watch this series. This is the true accounts of the children of Ervil LeBaron and other family members as they recount the early days of life living in a cult. This is the dramatic story of young Anna. Watch as she tells her story of her daring escape as a young teen and her eventual reunification with her siblings later in life. How they all coped and the difficulty of living in fear of being caught and possibly killed for daring to leave!

This is a story of triumph, recovery, forgiveness, and God's Grace.

The story is insane and the documentary is worth watching but the production/editing was so freaking weird. The interviews felt like a really bad reality tv show which I felt did a disservice to the 'survivors'. It made them annoying and hard to empathize with instead of connecting with them and their experience. Whoever did the editing allowed so many things to be repeated over and over and over again that the repetitiveness was also an annoying factor and it jumps all over the place, there was no need to try and be clever, just tell the story linearly. It didn't need to be 5 episodes either, it could have been done in 3. The mental gymnastics it must take to believe and convince others to believe your narcissistic delusions boggles the mind. Interesting story, really weird production.

I had read Anna LeBaron's book The Polygamist's Daughter but I still found myself staring open mouthed at the screen during some of the revelations in this documentary. There is something so powerful about hearing it straight from the survivors of a violent cult. No one knows how many children cult leader Ervil LeBaron had but estimates are at least 50. Many of his children and other relatives appear on screen to share their stories. I believe I binge watched this over two days, and I want more. We need a Part 2! The description of the 4 o'clock murders was so clear that it was more horrifying than reading about it. I loved the sibling relationships shown on screen and I wish these capital S Survivors all the best!