Little Sister by Patricia Walsh Chadwick

As in all religions, you sometimes run into those over zealous demanding leaders.  They can be charismatic, overbearing or just someone you want to please so you can gain heaven.  Sometimes they pull the rug out from under you.

The author sent me a copy of her book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can get a copy now.

Her parents put her in school with them.  Soon they had all the children enrolled and even her parents joined the faith.  Then odd things started to happen.  The girls and the boys were separated.  Never mind if they were brother and sister.  Then they couldn't see their parents.

This priest spread the word if you weren't Catholic, you couldn't go to heaven.  The girl who was used to brothers, played with boys during recess.  She was disciplined and that stopped.  They had ugly ways of beating them.

The home was dreadful.  Some of the other places they used weren't that bad but you had to be careful.  Her little sister wasn't eating and got punished for that.  Once she ate what she didn't to save her but she didn't get to sit next to her again.

They even made her parents take vows of celibacy so they no longer slept together.  The only good news was that the priest got excommunicated eventually.

When the girl was eighteen, she refused to become a nun.  They threw her out.

This religious group was a lot like a cult.  It was radical, mean, and eventually was shut down.  Trying to live as a family again was hard.  They all felt like strangers.  But they survived.