Search:

Gloriavale Survivor - Exposing Abuse & Cult in India, Consequences of Leaving

March 02, 202501:20:13
00:00:00
[Music]
00:00:01
kiwi's Love at
00:00:03
First like Finn we're making
00:00:07
[Music]
00:00:10
waves generate switch online
00:00:14
[Music]
00:00:20
today Theo Pratt welcome to my podcast
00:00:23
hello good to be back yeah cuz I um I
00:00:26
had your friend uh Rosie Overcomer on
00:00:28
the podcast Maybe a year ago and you
00:00:30
were sitting in the room at the time
00:00:32
yeah and um finally now we we connect
00:00:35
why now well my books out now and it's
00:00:39
going to be good sharing my story and
00:00:41
just getting my voice out there yeah for
00:00:44
those of you watching this podcast
00:00:45
rather than listening I'm holding a copy
00:00:47
of the this is your first copy of the
00:00:48
book yeah yeah um unveiled a story of
00:00:51
surviving Glory of Al by theop Pratt are
00:00:54
you happy with it yeah yeah pretty proud
00:00:56
of it yeah um was it a cathartic
00:00:59
experience was it a painful experience
00:01:01
it was a cathartic experience but it
00:01:03
also like through it I found out like
00:01:06
more things about my childhood and like
00:01:08
got more stories out of my mom um from
00:01:11
it which was I
00:01:13
guess very could it was overwhelming at
00:01:16
times but no overall it was good I so
00:01:19
your mom played a played a hand in this
00:01:21
played a part in this yeah I think I
00:01:23
wanted to get her I guess side of it as
00:01:27
well and talk about how she joined glor
00:01:30
Val and what led her to that yeah okay
00:01:33
well um first of all can I say because
00:01:36
I've done quite a bit of research for
00:01:37
this and we've got a lot of ground a lot
00:01:39
of ground to cover while you're here um
00:01:41
but yeah I wanted to know about the
00:01:42
status of your relationship with your
00:01:44
mom because the last time I guess it's
00:01:47
not the last time I saw you but I
00:01:48
thought the last time you maybe saw her
00:01:49
would have been in 2016 uh when she
00:01:52
dropped you off at the bus stop and um
00:01:55
this is you leaving gloryia of Val and
00:01:56
she said to you you're going to you're
00:01:58
basically going to rot in hell yeah um
00:02:00
but you've sort of rekindled and
00:02:01
reconnected since then yeah I think um
00:02:04
since then we have over time um a lot of
00:02:08
that is from me um reporting a lot of
00:02:11
the abuse I experienced in there to the
00:02:13
police and then from that that sort
00:02:17
of um opened up our relationship because
00:02:20
she didn't wasn't aware of a lot of it
00:02:23
um but yeah it's been a journey like my
00:02:26
sister who's been out for 3 years um her
00:02:30
coming out sort of opened up my mom's
00:02:32
relationship and then police being
00:02:34
involved and her being able to get a
00:02:36
phone in there has sort of led to us
00:02:39
having communication yeah my God there's
00:02:42
a lot to talk about yeah um yeah I've
00:02:45
put quite a bit of thought into this
00:02:46
into how we structure it because um it's
00:02:49
quite a complex story yeah um there were
00:02:52
a lot of people on Instagram that um
00:02:53
posted questions for me to ask you and
00:02:56
um a a lot of those um I don't know I
00:02:59
suppose kind of trivial on the big
00:03:01
scheme of things or like Curious you
00:03:02
know like music related pop culture
00:03:04
related about you know the outside world
00:03:06
versus glor of so I thought maybe we'll
00:03:09
um we'll get them done first yeah and
00:03:12
then we'll unpack um some of your story
00:03:14
yeah that might be the best way to first
00:03:15
of all um uh a lot of people might
00:03:17
remember you from um uh the glory ofil
00:03:21
documentary escaping Utopia which was on
00:03:23
TV and Z last year can you remember what
00:03:25
your famous line was oh what is it um
00:03:30
don't know who Taylor Swift is but I
00:03:31
know how to make
00:03:33
cheese yeah yeah I know um word for word
00:03:37
it's I know how to make cheese but I
00:03:39
don't know who Taylor Swift is do you
00:03:40
know who Taylor Swift is now oh 100%
00:03:43
what do you like more what do you like
00:03:44
more cheese or Taylor oh I think
00:03:47
Taylor really just a little bit I'm I'm
00:03:50
a Swifty but I love cheese as well if I
00:03:52
had to pick one for the rest of my life
00:03:53
I'd probably go with cheese um yeah so
00:03:56
so you've got the book out as well and
00:03:58
you're also um the first from Glory V to
00:04:00
earn a degree yeah yeah there's been a
00:04:03
couple more now but um yeah getting my
00:04:06
degree is probably the best thing I've
00:04:08
done since leaving yeah yeah and another
00:04:12
um like reference point because the the
00:04:14
documentary came out a while ago on TV
00:04:16
and said it was like over a year ago uh
00:04:17
you're you're the one that's got a
00:04:18
sister in India called precious um who's
00:04:21
been there since 2012 and uh this was
00:04:24
another quote more serious one from the
00:04:26
documentary my goal is I will not let
00:04:28
her be forgotten yeah yeah and and
00:04:30
you're sticking to that 100% yeah I've
00:04:33
got this tattoo on my arm um which is a
00:04:37
drawing that my nephews did in India um
00:04:40
which is just like my reminder that yeah
00:04:41
I'm not going to give up and going to
00:04:43
find a way to get her back to New
00:04:45
Zealand and the other women and their
00:04:47
children fantastic okay more on that
00:04:49
later uh first of all the Instagram
00:04:51
stuff someone said um uh if if you were
00:04:56
writing like an outside Survival Guide
00:04:59
for people leaving Glory of Ale like
00:05:01
what would be some of the key things in
00:05:03
it you know so like an instruction
00:05:05
instruction menu so they drop you off at
00:05:07
the the bus stop they tell you you're
00:05:09
going to spend the rest of your life
00:05:10
burning in hell um what would have been
00:05:12
helpful information to
00:05:13
have um I think more like money
00:05:17
management and then just like social
00:05:19
skills knowing like how to introduce
00:05:22
yourself and that sort of things just
00:05:24
how they have a conversation with
00:05:26
someone what do you
00:05:27
mean and Le you you only had
00:05:30
conversations with people you've ever
00:05:32
like grown up with and you've NE you
00:05:35
don't introduce yourself to anyone or
00:05:38
say hello or things like that and like
00:05:42
and MoneyWise I only had ever seen a $5
00:05:45
note before leaving I didn't know what
00:05:48
$200 meant in the scheme of things um
00:05:53
and knowing how to go to the supermarket
00:05:55
and things like that like choosing what
00:05:58
to have for dinner
00:06:00
like that sort of thing is probably just
00:06:03
the really everyday life sort of
00:06:06
stuff does it take you long uh once you
00:06:09
leave Glory of able to get you hit
00:06:10
around that
00:06:11
stuff I mean you learn the hard way for
00:06:14
a lot of it like it's trial and error um
00:06:18
but I
00:06:20
think just a lot of it comes down to
00:06:25
being able to make choices and if you
00:06:26
can learn that skill then you sort of
00:06:29
everything El becomes easier yeah
00:06:33
there's there's some stuff in the book
00:06:34
that um you only s it to me yesterday so
00:06:36
I haven't read the whole thing I've just
00:06:37
hit a flick through but some of it's um
00:06:40
I mean yeah sort of touches your heart
00:06:42
it's kind of cute in a way it's like you
00:06:43
leave Glory Vil they give you $200 and
00:06:45
you think you're rich you get to you
00:06:48
realize oh okay $200 ain't going to get
00:06:50
me f pretty much yeah I love that uh
00:06:54
someone else said um uh what are the
00:06:56
most positive and most negative things
00:06:58
you learned from growing up in Glory
00:07:01
of um anything good about
00:07:05
it probably more like the life skills
00:07:08
stuff but then also just I think my
00:07:11
favorite thing in glor was like being a
00:07:14
child and being in nature and like the
00:07:16
bush walks and like that's part of it um
00:07:21
like I don't think I would have gotten
00:07:23
through my childhood if I didn't have
00:07:25
the nature around me to like disappear
00:07:27
into the bush for a few hours and um
00:07:30
that's probably the best thing and the
00:07:31
thing I miss most about like the West
00:07:33
Coast M
00:07:36
yeah that's quite telling a so it's more
00:07:39
like um scenery based really than
00:07:41
anything else yeah yeah definitely and
00:07:43
when you disappeared in the bush for a
00:07:44
few hours what was that for like just to
00:07:46
process thoughts or yeah process
00:07:48
thoughts and like I did a lot of writing
00:07:50
and reading um and just sleeping as well
00:07:55
like you couldn't and just a peace
00:07:58
like I moment just
00:08:01
to realize I don't know like process
00:08:04
things and hide from the meetings on
00:08:09
Sunday
00:08:11
um
00:08:16
yes thanks J uh from Instagram uh what
00:08:20
did Theo know about the outside
00:08:23
world that it was a bad evil place and
00:08:25
that everyone was going to hell um that
00:08:29
was pretty much
00:08:30
it is she still
00:08:33
religious I believe m in higher power I
00:08:38
believe in like the universe and the
00:08:40
environment and connecting to nature but
00:08:42
that's about it so if there was not
00:08:44
religion so there was a scale and there
00:08:46
was like um religious agnostic atheist
00:08:50
where would you be some probably in the
00:08:51
middle yeah yeah okay um within Glory of
00:08:54
vale uh what do people say about those
00:08:57
that have
00:08:58
left when you're in there and someone
00:09:01
leaves like is it does everyone sort of
00:09:02
gossip about them does everyone talk
00:09:04
about them do they pray for them um like
00:09:08
the word goes around that people have
00:09:09
left and it's like they've damned their
00:09:11
souls to hell and they didn't have like
00:09:13
faith in God and they didn't trust the
00:09:15
leaders and pretty much you just think
00:09:18
that they've gone like they've
00:09:19
disappeared like I remember when my best
00:09:22
friend when I was a 11 her whole family
00:09:25
just disappeared and you just think that
00:09:27
she's gone to hell and that's all
00:09:30
and that's
00:09:31
that and then like they have burnings
00:09:34
like when I was younger that you'd have
00:09:35
to burn um any like thing you had like
00:09:38
photos or anything to do with them like
00:09:40
your their names can't really be
00:09:42
mentioned again that like it's like they
00:09:45
never
00:09:47
existed that's terrifying yeah yeah so
00:09:50
you're not aware that it's that it's
00:09:52
happening so your friends don't say Hey
00:09:54
you in the next couple of days I'm going
00:09:56
to be leaving not always no you don't
00:09:58
tell any one cuz then you could be
00:10:02
stopped how did you know it was the
00:10:03
right decision to
00:10:05
leave I knew from like the age of 14
00:10:08
that I had to get out of there but I
00:10:12
think when I got to 18 it was just like
00:10:15
a lot of questioning and then I pretty
00:10:17
much got told I had to sign the
00:10:19
commitment or leave so that was sort of
00:10:22
was the last thing last straw yeah again
00:10:26
these are the questions from Instagram
00:10:27
we're just scratching the surface on
00:10:28
some of the stuff and we'll get into
00:10:30
that in in more detail when we get
00:10:32
through these um some of the some of
00:10:34
these are quite serious but some of them
00:10:35
are quite trivial so once we get through
00:10:36
these we'll go through your story in
00:10:38
sort of a more chronological order um
00:10:41
who decides the baby names the mothers
00:10:43
get to say what's your name honey my
00:10:46
name yeah was honey faithful yeah um
00:10:49
parents choose them but they have to be
00:10:51
biblical and then they have to run them
00:10:53
past the leaders
00:10:56
first so where did um theophila come
00:10:58
from a pre um when I was 16 I changed my
00:11:03
name in glova um and it had to still be
00:11:07
religious so I came up with the um I
00:11:12
came from a cow to be
00:11:13
honest you mean I was illegally milking
00:11:16
cows with my cousins down at deir and
00:11:19
one of the cows names was theop and then
00:11:22
I just remembered that when I was going
00:11:24
to change my name right honey Faithful
00:11:26
is a great name it sounds like it could
00:11:28
be a pop st sounds like could be a Stu's
00:11:30
name st's name I wouldn't know about
00:11:33
that sort ofil it didn't it didn't work
00:11:35
I mean having that sort of name in there
00:11:37
all the guys just head on you and like I
00:11:41
don't know it was just like a mocking
00:11:43
thing in terms of like woman and having
00:11:45
that name it was like confusing and like
00:11:49
a lot of bullying related to it yeah by
00:11:52
me and like boys my age
00:11:57
yeah what is the uh typical day for a
00:11:59
glory ofil woman or for you I suppose
00:12:03
like a young woman like like a teenage
00:12:04
girl yep probably waking up at 4:30 to 5
00:12:08
and either going to work on one of the
00:12:10
teams so it could be going to make the
00:12:12
breed for the community so like 100
00:12:14
Loaves and then going to
00:12:17
school finishing at like 2:30 back to
00:12:20
work and then finishing maybe at 700 at
00:12:23
night yeah starting
00:12:28
again seems to be a life with like very
00:12:30
little Joy it's feels like it's a life
00:12:33
with um sort of like purpose and
00:12:34
structure and discipline but maybe very
00:12:36
little Joy no joy and no like moment to
00:12:40
like have a laugh or have a conversation
00:12:43
with a person next to you it's like just
00:12:44
go go go cuz if you have a moment to
00:12:47
think then you might start
00:12:49
questioning you do you yeah within none
00:12:52
of those moments that you can like even
00:12:54
snapshots where like you're having a
00:12:55
laugh or a happy moment with there's a
00:12:58
few moment
00:12:59
but a lot of like of and moments of
00:13:03
things that could get you in trouble so
00:13:06
like running away and like going into
00:13:08
the bush and like that sort of thing but
00:13:11
it was always on terms that it was
00:13:13
against the
00:13:14
rules Yeah you mentioned mentioned
00:13:17
before that you were um illegally
00:13:18
milking um theophila the
00:13:21
cow what what happens when you when you
00:13:23
break the law of Glory of a you'll end
00:13:26
up in a a Shepherds and servants meeting
00:13:28
on a Sunday afternoon and questioned and
00:13:32
like you'll get be sent her into a room
00:13:34
with like 12 of the leaders and
00:13:37
questioned for a few hours for a few
00:13:40
hours yeah and the leaders are all are
00:13:42
all mean yeah all mean and sitting
00:13:44
around in a circle and your sent what
00:13:46
sort of age oh 40s to 70s right so
00:13:51
you're 13 14 15 16 year old girl
00:13:55
yeah and like are they raising their
00:13:57
voices or oh 100% like raising your
00:14:00
voices just all they all take turns at
00:14:03
like screaming at you or yelling
00:14:05
questioning you and you just sit there
00:14:08
and wait for it to end and then you have
00:14:11
to sort of come to an agreement at the
00:14:13
end that you're going to do something to
00:14:15
to show that you're going to submit to
00:14:17
them so it could be apologizing or it
00:14:20
could be you get put out like I was put
00:14:22
out a couple of times um what does that
00:14:25
mean could mean a range of things but
00:14:27
when I got put out I was sent to work in
00:14:30
the sewing room every day when I was 15
00:14:32
and like I wasn't allowed to talk to any
00:14:34
girls my age and not allowed to tend
00:14:37
things that everyone else attended so
00:14:39
just went to the sewing room every day
00:14:40
sewed then went
00:14:42
home
00:14:45
yeah so so when you're in when you're in
00:14:47
when you're in trouble when you when you
00:14:49
break the law
00:14:50
yeah break is in milking a cow say that
00:14:54
happens on a Wednesday um are you just
00:14:56
waiting until Sunday for the
00:14:58
disciplinary
00:14:59
sometimes you're like oh is it going to
00:15:00
happen or sometimes if it's serious
00:15:03
you'll get called into like a meeting
00:15:05
that night so
00:15:07
like if someone from the outside that's
00:15:10
left comes in and you're seen talking to
00:15:12
them I've I was called into a meeting at
00:15:15
like 2: in the morning woken up and was
00:15:19
in a meeting with the leaders for a few
00:15:21
hours and then to work at
00:15:23
4: so they can't it can happen at any
00:15:27
time they can be knocking on your door
00:15:29
at
00:15:32
midnight what's the anxiety like like
00:15:34
leading up to these meetings like if you
00:15:36
know meetings coming like are you
00:15:37
[ __ ] yourself yeah [ __ ] yourself
00:15:40
and disappearing up up to the bush
00:15:44
hiding that's why you're like your but
00:15:47
you know you're eventually going to have
00:15:48
to face the music you you do you know
00:15:50
you are you just I guess hope that
00:15:53
something else someone else does
00:15:55
something bad so they take over yeah
00:16:00
yeah pretty much yeah well I can't
00:16:03
imagine how how stressed by does it get
00:16:04
easier though like those those those
00:16:06
telling off you like oh I'm in trouble
00:16:07
again it's another one Whatever Yeah you
00:16:10
sort of just like oh well you and you
00:16:12
sort of know learn the lines that they
00:16:14
like so you learn the lines that will
00:16:16
get you out of it so you learn to like
00:16:19
say sorry and say what they want you to
00:16:22
say so you just keep them in rotation
00:16:25
and get through it and carry on say
00:16:28
praise prise God and bless your brother
00:16:30
and hope that does the trick say all the
00:16:33
right things and then just go back to
00:16:34
milking the cows illegally yeah pretty
00:16:36
much um a good friend of mine Clint uh
00:16:40
he's a very funny guy he said um did she
00:16:42
have a good role in the concert or was
00:16:44
she put on the background oh no I didn't
00:16:46
have any role
00:16:47
didn't no why were you too much of a
00:16:50
renegade yeah were you yeah was that
00:16:54
like a uh like a a privileged position
00:16:56
to give a 100% yeah yeah chosen how much
00:17:00
prep went into those concerts months
00:17:02
like six months before the concert like
00:17:05
months and months of prep making all the
00:17:07
costumes long hours yeah was that a um
00:17:11
like a good position to have cuz it's a
00:17:13
I don't know I suppose a bit of Joy yeah
00:17:16
it was fun cuz you're doing something
00:17:17
different and you're and and you're
00:17:20
excited about who's going to turn off at
00:17:21
the
00:17:22
concert were you not motivated to change
00:17:24
your evil ways to get a SP no and I
00:17:28
didn't I couldn't think of anything
00:17:30
worse than representing nille
00:17:32
Copa yeah
00:17:35
um someone you might know um her
00:17:38
Instagram name is man doton says I went
00:17:40
to school with the I don't have a
00:17:41
question I just want her to know that
00:17:42
she's an inspiration oh nice yeah how
00:17:45
does that make you feel yeah great I
00:17:48
think I think yeah it feels
00:17:53
good yeah yeah since you've been out so
00:17:57
what is it now like eight years yeah not
00:17:59
it'll be nine years next month yeah how
00:18:02
many how many conversations have you had
00:18:03
with people have yelled at you H not me
00:18:07
might be the other way
00:18:09
around are you yelling at k your partner
00:18:11
maybe yeah could be yeah but it's
00:18:14
strange though isn't it because this is
00:18:15
all you know and this is this is what
00:18:17
you think life's all about and then you
00:18:18
get out there and you realize that it
00:18:20
actually isn't no exactly very abnormal
00:18:22
you wait I often like I'll be waiting
00:18:25
for someone to yell and it doesn't
00:18:27
happen it's like oh
00:18:29
it's not normal like in what sort of
00:18:31
circumstances like can you think of any
00:18:32
that come to mind um probably more just
00:18:35
like within the work life and like I
00:18:38
don't know and stressful situations that
00:18:40
you expect people to lash out at you
00:18:43
when they're stressed oh and just when
00:18:45
you make a mistak somewhere or yeah yeah
00:18:47
yeah well pleas you don't have to put up
00:18:50
with that anymore yeah so uh what has
00:18:53
changed for her in the past year or so
00:18:55
since the escaping Utopia documentary
00:18:57
came out um um I think it's been a great
00:19:01
conversation starter but it's
00:19:06
also it's been a journey and it's I
00:19:09
guess I still just keeping on thinking
00:19:11
about my sister in India and like lots
00:19:13
of people asking me about how that's
00:19:17
going yeah there were a few questions
00:19:19
about that on Instagram but yeah we're
00:19:20
going to um get to that later um biggest
00:19:23
struggle after leaving Gloria
00:19:27
B just the self-confidence and knowing
00:19:30
where you fit in and knowing who you
00:19:33
connect to and like what is life and
00:19:37
knowing what you believe
00:19:39
in yeah I can't imagine that cuz it must
00:19:41
feel like um yeah so you were born there
00:19:44
you leave at 18 so you know you leave as
00:19:47
soon as you become an adult so you're
00:19:48
having these adult conversations with
00:19:49
people and you must just feel like I
00:19:52
don't know like you you you just can't
00:19:54
relate to what's going on and you really
00:19:55
struggle to fit in yeah a lot of that a
00:19:58
lot of like while I was studying like
00:20:00
knowing we to fit in I didn't know what
00:20:03
half the conversations were about um a
00:20:06
lot of
00:20:08
Googling a lot of um wearing
00:20:12
um yeah just trying to fit in yeah a lot
00:20:16
of wearing
00:20:19
what
00:20:21
um wearing um what's that what's that
00:20:24
brand with the um the ears now I can't
00:20:28
even think of it oh Playboy Playboy I I
00:20:32
I took a Playboy tail to a Christian
00:20:34
Camp and had no clue what it
00:20:37
was oh play funny there but Playboy was
00:20:40
popular for a while was that like the
00:20:42
the peak s of popularity thing when you
00:20:44
came out of Glory someone gave it to me
00:20:46
I think they did it as a joke and I
00:20:48
thought it was cool and I took it to a
00:20:51
Christian
00:20:52
[Laughter]
00:20:54
can um besides family and friends does
00:20:57
she miss anything from her glory of our
00:20:59
life you may have covered off that
00:21:01
before with the scenery yeah not really
00:21:05
nothing um how frequently do people
00:21:08
leave and does everyone else in glory of
00:21:10
our gossip about them feel like we
00:21:12
covered off that last bit earlier um but
00:21:14
yeah how frequently do people leave when
00:21:16
I left it was every few like every six
00:21:18
months or so every year but now like
00:21:21
pretty much every day there's someone
00:21:23
leaving wow do you know what the
00:21:25
population is there now still must be
00:21:29
like like 500 something right yeah um
00:21:33
the left Glory of Val in 2016 which was
00:21:36
um Peak Bieber Fever did she know who
00:21:38
Justin Bieber was absolutely not really
00:21:42
no so yeah what were you okay so when
00:21:46
you're in there so 15 16 17 18 until you
00:21:49
left um yeah what were you were you
00:21:51
aware of in terms of pop culture and
00:21:53
music I I I knew of the Kardashians
00:22:00
but how like what did you know what did
00:22:01
you know about pretty much nothing
00:22:03
really but like just photos of them like
00:22:06
I don't know would look through all the
00:22:07
magazines and like um all like the
00:22:11
modeling stuff and would look through
00:22:12
the pictures that way what magazines
00:22:15
like when you're in Greymouth for a
00:22:16
visit or no like we'd get all the old
00:22:18
newspapers and go through them um and
00:22:21
just like when we're lighting the fire
00:22:22
at 3:30 in the morning just scroll
00:22:26
through W papers out yeah so and in
00:22:29
terms of Music nothing we like had the
00:22:33
illegal like wiring radios together and
00:22:37
like listen to a few like songs like
00:22:39
Katie Perry songs but other than that
00:22:42
not really
00:22:44
anything yes so what radio did you
00:22:46
listen to I would I would have been on
00:22:48
the radio when you were in cor yeah I
00:22:50
think you were yeah I think the edge and
00:22:53
that sort of stuff and then like sports
00:22:55
like I remember when the All Blacks
00:22:56
played and like when I was making cheese
00:22:58
I had
00:22:59
a guy come and tell me the score and I'd
00:23:01
write it in the cheese book for the the
00:23:03
World Cup write in the cheese book why
00:23:06
the score the black game I don't know I
00:23:09
just cheese book like a diary or yeah
00:23:11
well like when I made cheese we would
00:23:12
have to record like all the acid and how
00:23:15
you what we did how much milk and at the
00:23:17
bottom I just like right messages for
00:23:21
just for yourself yeah and then I I
00:23:24
always thought that cuz other people
00:23:27
they' be kept in the kitchen and I
00:23:28
always thought like it'll be cool once I
00:23:30
left the other girls getting to read it
00:23:33
saying if I left them any messages like
00:23:36
I don't know to make them think about
00:23:37
where they
00:23:40
live i' I've never been to Gloria valy
00:23:43
and I've never been to prison either but
00:23:45
like what you're describing sounds like
00:23:48
sounds worse than prison yeah a little
00:23:51
bit um first time she had McDonald's or
00:23:56
KFC first time I had um KFC I went
00:24:00
through with like a drag queen what went
00:24:03
through the drive-thru like it was a
00:24:04
friend uh like a friend of a friend they
00:24:07
were like oh well I'll take you to CC
00:24:10
and then yeah they were telling me about
00:24:11
their life and yeah so this is after you
00:24:15
left glor of Val and we're living in
00:24:16
ockland yeah yeah yeah Y and um what
00:24:19
were your thoughts on
00:24:21
KFC so we had it in gloral it was like
00:24:24
nille Cooper's biggest thing oh really
00:24:27
yeah right he oh so you okay so you'd
00:24:30
already had KFC yeah yeah yeah yeah what
00:24:32
about McDonald's I think we used to go
00:24:35
through the drive-thru for the 50 c ice
00:24:38
creams but I didn't know what it was cuz
00:24:40
we never went in and shops like Kmart or
00:24:45
brisos nothing there's no shops in gr
00:24:48
yeah no but the first time you like went
00:24:51
to one of those um after leaving Gloria
00:24:53
Vale yeah I don't I think it was all
00:24:56
just a blur like Sylvia Park was my
00:24:58
closest is small it was overwhelming
00:25:02
butting yeah syia Park is
00:25:05
probably like about the size of the
00:25:06
whole Glory of a compound yeah um does
00:25:10
she have any favorite swear words
00:25:12
now just the f
00:25:14
word did you ever swear in glory of
00:25:18
Val uh did you know those words or does
00:25:20
anyone use not those words but like
00:25:22
saying [ __ ] was like the worst thing
00:25:25
ever and if someone overheard you you
00:25:27
you'd get in trouble for that right yeah
00:25:29
right
00:25:31
um uh what was the coolest little um
00:25:35
little things you found out after you
00:25:39
left don't know there's nothing after
00:25:42
you left that like just blew your mind
00:25:44
really impressed
00:25:46
you I just think
00:25:49
like you think in a way but like just
00:25:53
that woman could have an education and
00:25:55
like that woman were CEOs and like
00:25:58
running the place like that sort of blew
00:26:01
my mind did that seem like unfathomable
00:26:04
fathomable to you when 100% that's such
00:26:06
a cool answer yeah like sort of thing
00:26:09
like literally and that I could do that
00:26:11
if I wanted and here you are you got a
00:26:14
degree yeah like like it's it's like I
00:26:18
don't think I can um just emphasize
00:26:19
enough just how how cool that is so you
00:26:21
had sort of limited education while you
00:26:23
were growing up yeah and then you leave
00:26:25
at 18 you you don't know anything about
00:26:27
the outside world and you've you've
00:26:29
you've accomplished so much in the last
00:26:31
you know eight years since you've been
00:26:32
out it's really cool hope you're proud
00:26:35
of yourself yeah definitely proud of
00:26:37
myself um what was the first movie she
00:26:39
saw after leaving Gloria Val hunt for
00:26:41
the worlder people oh yeah that's not
00:26:43
bad what you enjoy it not bad you loved
00:26:44
it five stars yeah then again you had
00:26:47
nothing to compare
00:26:49
exactly uh first concert she went to
00:26:52
Pink all right okay yeah um your friend
00:26:55
Rosie Overcomer who I had on last year
00:26:57
she said pink is well did you go
00:26:58
together no no no um yeah why did you
00:27:02
yeah did you like pink yeah it was good
00:27:05
yeah she's a very good perform that sets
00:27:06
the bar very high for for other concerts
00:27:08
I love Sam Smith though I've been to his
00:27:10
all his concerts in New Zealand have you
00:27:13
yeah yeah why what's the appeal with Sam
00:27:15
Smith just being different and being who
00:27:18
he is like just him being himself yeah
00:27:22
um in terms of Technology uh what was
00:27:24
the hardest things to
00:27:26
learn like is it weird when you first
00:27:29
get a phone very weird I think I used
00:27:32
all my minutes up like on the first
00:27:35
day I don't know who I was talking
00:27:38
to but yeah that's of thing yeah and
00:27:41
someone wanted to know about clothes and
00:27:42
fashion like um you know I suppose what
00:27:46
they mean is um when you wear the same
00:27:48
blue dresses your entire life and that's
00:27:50
all you're knowing uh when you can start
00:27:52
making clothing choices for yourself
00:27:54
what do you what do you get you're
00:27:56
wearing jeans today that's um that's not
00:27:58
L step up
00:28:00
yeah are jeans comfortable oh so comfy
00:28:03
no but I mean when you when you go from
00:28:05
not wearing jeans your entire life to
00:28:06
wearing the first time as an adult I
00:28:08
think he's a power in wearing jeans as a
00:28:10
woman like for me I mean I talk about in
00:28:12
my book like I think it just gives you
00:28:15
like a sense of control and
00:28:18
like oh wearing men's clothing but it's
00:28:22
not and just I I just find like a power
00:28:25
in it and in the beginning when you when
00:28:29
you started like wearing jewelry have
00:28:31
you got ear you got your ears pierced or
00:28:32
yeah you got your ear pierced when you
00:28:33
got your like piercings and your tattoo
00:28:36
um like was there like a default sense
00:28:38
of guilt or anything no no no not at all
00:28:42
no tatos are addictive he
00:28:45
yeah when you get in them it does it
00:28:47
sort of feel like the middle finger in a
00:28:48
way yeah yeah yeah okay that's great
00:28:51
thanks for answering those Instagram
00:28:53
questions oh good does it surprise you
00:28:55
is is it weird the sort of things people
00:28:57
want to know a little bit some really
00:28:59
strange questions like what strange just
00:29:03
like I guess they want like lots of
00:29:05
people ask you how many husbands you had
00:29:07
or just really weird things yeah but the
00:29:11
husband thing do so you if you were in
00:29:14
glor of Ale you'd most definitely be
00:29:16
married now with a number of kids yeah
00:29:18
do you you get any saying who you marry
00:29:20
or you just get peered up peered out
00:29:22
yeah ni so was there someone earmarked
00:29:24
for you well like my sister got a
00:29:28
married and and the guy she married had
00:29:31
a whole lot of brothers and often
00:29:32
they'll marry you after to the brothers
00:29:35
of that same family but yeah couldn't
00:29:38
think of anything
00:29:40
worse um yeah CU you're in a
00:29:42
relationship are you engaged no no but
00:29:45
you're own a house that's a big
00:29:46
commitment um with your partner Kevin we
00:29:48
get into that yeah that's cool and um
00:29:51
you you you selected him yourself yeah
00:29:54
yeah awesome okay um yeah let's talk
00:29:57
about the Glory of our years so earliest
00:30:00
memories like if you go back as far as
00:30:01
what you can like feeding feeding lambs
00:30:04
and The Paddock and stuff like that at
00:30:06
what sort of age like six
00:30:10
yeah yeah yeah CU I suppose at that age
00:30:12
like it you only know what you know
00:30:15
right yeah so you don't know any
00:30:17
anything different you you don't know
00:30:18
that that what's right and what's wrong
00:30:20
and what's normal and what's what's not
00:30:21
normal it's just you and your family
00:30:24
and any happy times
00:30:28
some like of playing with my sisters and
00:30:31
that but a lot of like uncertainty and
00:30:36
anxiety yeah even at a young age yeah my
00:30:39
my dad was very like out of control and
00:30:43
abusive so you never knew what what was
00:30:46
going to happen in the night abusive in
00:30:49
what way physically and like
00:30:52
manipulative of like to my mom
00:30:56
yeah never towards you kids um yeah if
00:30:59
you tried to get in like stand in
00:31:01
between it and like stop it then you it
00:31:04
would get turned to
00:31:05
you yeah and the from what I can gather
00:31:08
about the dynamic of uh glor of like
00:31:11
families all in the same room yeah so so
00:31:14
if a husband is um being abusive to his
00:31:16
wife like the the kids are you're seeing
00:31:19
everything they're seeing or hearing
00:31:20
everything
00:31:23
yeah like physically abusive verbally
00:31:26
abusive sexually abusive yeah you all
00:31:29
yeah all of
00:31:33
it that's heartbreaking M yeah and then
00:31:37
like overhearing the leaders telling my
00:31:39
mom it's her fault because she's not a
00:31:41
submissive wife I think there a lot of
00:31:43
like my like early memories like hearing
00:31:46
that
00:31:48
yeah and then just knowing like that's
00:31:51
my future if I stay
00:31:53
here do you feel um
00:31:58
do you feel a degree of sympathy for
00:31:59
your mom yeah yeah what about your dad
00:32:04
how do you feel towards him you do you
00:32:06
hate
00:32:08
him
00:32:11
um I wouldn't say I hate him but I don't
00:32:14
have any time for
00:32:15
him um it's hard to forgive that yeah
00:32:20
yeah I just let him love his life as
00:32:23
long as he's not hurting anyone else
00:32:29
why do you think nothing's done about
00:32:31
that these meetings you're talking about
00:32:33
where where you is as a very young woman
00:32:36
are getting a dressing down by these
00:32:38
middle-aged men for a few hours on a
00:32:39
Sunday like why aren't they putting
00:32:41
their energy into geez I'm getting
00:32:43
emotional here why aren't they putting
00:32:44
that energy into like addressing like
00:32:46
illegal and appalling Behavior like
00:32:48
exactly because if they address that
00:32:50
then they've got to address their own
00:32:52
behavior and their own behaviors matches
00:32:55
that and so
00:32:58
they can't or they don't they don't want
00:33:01
to um is
00:33:03
there yeah um there's nothing you have
00:33:06
fomo about now about Glory of Val like
00:33:08
do you do you feel like you know fomo
00:33:11
yeah yeah like when
00:33:13
um when you know there's a big occasion
00:33:16
on like um I don't know like maybe the
00:33:18
concert or whatever or maybe your mom's
00:33:20
birthday or a sibling's birthday like do
00:33:21
you feel a sense of like mourning or
00:33:23
loss that you're not there or not
00:33:25
particularly um
00:33:28
not particularly I think I have more of
00:33:30
a fear of like missing out on my nieces
00:33:33
and nephews lives and
00:33:35
like shaping it and like protecting them
00:33:39
like protecting them from what I went
00:33:41
through
00:33:43
yeah
00:33:45
um you know who could you talk to about
00:33:48
things in in glor val like the you know
00:33:51
so from a young age you can remember
00:33:53
your dad you know being abusive to your
00:33:54
mom like is is there anyone you could
00:33:56
confide in
00:33:58
not really like just your own siblings
00:34:01
and that's that's it or like I didn't
00:34:03
talk to any of my siblings
00:34:06
why I
00:34:08
think I don't know you just
00:34:10
think they're going to tell on you like
00:34:13
everyone's dobbing each other in like to
00:34:15
the leaders and like our family was low
00:34:18
on the hierarchy system so all my
00:34:20
siblings are trying to survive they're
00:34:22
trying to get higher in the hierarchy
00:34:24
system they'll do anything to get higher
00:34:26
so if you say anything to them they'll
00:34:28
do you in like they'll tell the
00:34:30
leaders can't even trust your own family
00:34:34
no do you have trust issues now or are
00:34:36
you pretty good now um highly skeptical
00:34:40
of people that's understand like there's
00:34:43
um sh we we we'll get into the work that
00:34:46
you've done since you left Glory ofil
00:34:47
like the work on yourself and it's a lot
00:34:49
to unpick like you can't just you know
00:34:52
it it it takes time and and a lot of a
00:34:55
lot of work to undo like um you know the
00:34:57
pre-programming yeah a lot
00:35:02
um so in your late you get asked to sign
00:35:06
a a glory ofil commitment contract yeah
00:35:09
what is that and what sort of age um
00:35:12
normally around 16 to 18 young people
00:35:14
sign it um in front of all the community
00:35:18
and it's pretty much just like signing
00:35:20
your life away and terms of like that
00:35:22
you'll marry whoever they say you won't
00:35:25
leave and if you leave the community
00:35:26
you're doing it to the pural of your
00:35:28
soul and it's pretty much just saying
00:35:31
like the leaders are the best people in
00:35:32
the world essentially yeah so you sort
00:35:35
of dodged that because you don't want to
00:35:37
sign it yeah did you did you know at
00:35:38
that point that you want it out yeah
00:35:41
100% when when did you when did you
00:35:43
decide you want it out pretty much from
00:35:45
the age of 14 I was like I want to get
00:35:47
out of here but why just I didn't want
00:35:51
to get a married to anyone in there and
00:35:54
I just wanted
00:35:55
education um where where did that
00:35:57
strength come from I don't know I think
00:36:01
just the strength of like survival and
00:36:04
wanting something better
00:36:07
and willing to take the risk with like
00:36:11
without knowing what the risk was like
00:36:14
you just I just thought something had to
00:36:16
be better than
00:36:18
that yeah but there's there's a lot of
00:36:20
people in there that it's it's it's a
00:36:22
it's a it's like a it's a risk or a roll
00:36:24
of the dice that they're not prepared to
00:36:25
take yeah no they're not
00:36:28
because it means if they it means that
00:36:30
their whole life is a
00:36:32
lie um when did you start say who did
00:36:36
who did you tell that you didn't want to
00:36:38
sign the contract or that you might be
00:36:39
interested in leaving like did you talk
00:36:40
to your mom about it or anyone or like I
00:36:42
think my mom sort of knew um but like I
00:36:45
had a few friends and like they some of
00:36:48
them had left and they had gone and so
00:36:51
you sort of talked to them when they
00:36:53
were there and then they would disappear
00:36:54
they would be gone and then you sort of
00:36:57
just I think the thing that made me stay
00:36:59
there as long as I did was that knowing
00:37:01
that once you left you cut off and that
00:37:03
was that and so you sort of just hanging
00:37:06
in there hoping you could stay there a
00:37:09
bit longer to like I guess get older and
00:37:12
then like still have relationships with
00:37:14
your family cuz once you're gone you're
00:37:16
gone yeah and I I think it's hard to
00:37:18
imagine like just what a terrifying
00:37:20
prospect that is it's everything
00:37:22
everything you know this tiny little
00:37:23
this tiny little world that you've got
00:37:25
that you've had for 18 years of your
00:37:26
life your family's there absolutely
00:37:28
everything you know is there and you're
00:37:29
turning your back on that and it's not
00:37:31
there's no um you go out have a look and
00:37:34
if it doesn't work out come back it's
00:37:35
like all or nothing and pretty much I
00:37:38
can't imagine um just how terrifying
00:37:40
that is for anyone yeah so um so the
00:37:45
leadership group they keep trying to get
00:37:46
you to sign the contract yeah um you
00:37:49
keep the where's Theo oh she's hiding in
00:37:51
the bush again exactly how long does
00:37:53
this go on for this this dance um
00:37:57
a few months of like me Pro like getting
00:38:01
up and apologizing and like trying to
00:38:03
say that yeah I'm going to I'm not going
00:38:05
to question anymore and then it just
00:38:08
came down to someone had come in that
00:38:11
had left and I got asked where they were
00:38:14
and I didn't know where they were like
00:38:15
they'd come in and they were hiding and
00:38:17
they were being looked for um and I
00:38:20
pretty much just someone asked me where
00:38:22
they were and I was like someone had
00:38:24
come in from the outside like a former
00:38:26
glory of yeah yeah right and um I got
00:38:28
asked where they were cuz I was friends
00:38:30
with them and I just like oh I don't
00:38:32
know where they are but if I did I
00:38:34
wouldn't tell you anyway and then that
00:38:36
just blew up and from there came the
00:38:39
thing you we want you to sign the
00:38:41
commitment yeah from that it was like on
00:38:44
a Friday morning I just had like nille
00:38:46
Cooper his wife other people just coming
00:38:49
and screaming at me like saying like you
00:38:52
hate you're a disgrace and like just I
00:38:55
don't know going off um
00:38:58
um yeah like most most people would find
00:39:00
that sort of um confrontation quite um
00:39:03
like distressing are you just numb to it
00:39:05
at this time this this point you just
00:39:07
stand there and take it right yeah did
00:39:10
it used to break you down in the
00:39:11
beginning though it did yeah yeah then
00:39:15
after a while he just grow immune to it
00:39:17
pretty much yeah so what like what are
00:39:19
your Recollections of the last few days
00:39:21
was it like a a crazy chaotic time or
00:39:24
they they sent me to my room cuz I don't
00:39:27
want me to be around any of my friends
00:39:29
or any anyone else so I was like sweet
00:39:31
went home and sleep all day it was
00:39:35
great that was like sweet didn't have to
00:39:38
make any cheese exactly I to do any work
00:39:41
but were you were you actually sweet
00:39:42
though because it's um like it's never
00:39:45
it's never nice being in a position
00:39:47
where you know you've like let everyone
00:39:48
down or everyone's pissed off with you
00:39:49
you know what I mean yeah well no I I
00:39:53
think I was more concerned like about my
00:39:54
mom but in terms of me or anything else
00:39:58
I was like it's it's happening like I'm
00:40:01
it's I'm going to leave like but you
00:40:03
didn't know when but like how it was
00:40:06
going to work out but it sort of
00:40:08
exciting in a
00:40:12
way de deep down like um your mom must
00:40:16
be quite proud of you I think she is
00:40:19
yeah like it's um yeah this Defiance
00:40:22
drak like it's actually something to be
00:40:24
proud of it's pretty cool it's just a
00:40:27
question thanks rather than just like
00:40:29
tow the line 100% always question yeah
00:40:32
yeah so um God what was going through
00:40:35
your mind like the last couple of days
00:40:37
so you you knew you were being kicked
00:40:38
out yeah I knew it was going to be come
00:40:41
to that
00:40:44
um it's just like you didn't know I
00:40:47
didn't know what to expect on the
00:40:48
outside but it's just like trying to say
00:40:51
goodbye to my friends and stuff not that
00:40:53
I really got to cuz once you sort of say
00:40:56
you're going you're like once I said I
00:40:58
was leaving I was sent to my room and
00:41:01
the men were out like men were outside
00:41:03
my door stopping anyone saying goodbye
00:41:05
to me and then I was just like ushered
00:41:07
into a van and taken off the
00:41:10
property so you sort of sort of kept in
00:41:12
isolation like use the prison an allery
00:41:14
again yeah yeah so I was put out for a
00:41:16
couple of days before I actually made
00:41:18
the decision and then yeah once I had
00:41:20
said yes you pretty much just
00:41:22
like not allowed to see anyone and they
00:41:26
keep you separated and get you out of
00:41:28
there as quick as possible and what do
00:41:30
you leave with I left with like an old
00:41:33
suitcase filled with random things the
00:41:36
one thing I wanted to take was like all
00:41:38
the photos that I had of my childhood or
00:41:40
like anything with me in it cuz I knew
00:41:42
that once I'd leave they would wrap them
00:41:44
up and they would be gone yeah are they
00:41:47
the there's um uh like a photo album in
00:41:49
the middle of your book unveiled is that
00:41:51
what those photos are yeah
00:41:54
yeah so do they like check you belong in
00:41:57
before you leave you they took my dress
00:42:00
off me the Blue Dress yeah yeah cuz your
00:42:02
friend Rosie who I had on the podcast a
00:42:04
year ago she she kept one of the one of
00:42:06
the dresses I can't remember what her
00:42:07
answer was but there was a reason for
00:42:09
doing it that why did they take the
00:42:10
dress off you cuz they don't want you to
00:42:12
we it like they don't want you going out
00:42:14
and wearing it not that you'd want to
00:42:17
anyway so you okay so what what do you
00:42:19
wear when they drop you off at the bus
00:42:21
stop they gave me like some old clothes
00:42:24
from the costume room like clo they used
00:42:27
to keep the stash of clothes for people
00:42:29
that visited so if like I don't know a a
00:42:33
chick turned up with wearing jeans so i'
00:42:35
often offer them skirts to wear so they
00:42:37
gave me cloth like a long skirt oh okay
00:42:41
so it's civilian clothes but Glory of
00:42:43
our friendly civilian Club so no one no
00:42:45
one's going to enter with a like the
00:42:46
bunny on the shirt yeah yeah yeah okay
00:42:50
so what time of day do they do they make
00:42:54
you leave well I left in the afternoon I
00:42:57
stayed at one of their houses where they
00:42:58
put people out um and then yeah they
00:43:01
dropped me off bus stop at about 6:00 in
00:43:03
the morning who drops you off at the bus
00:43:05
stop my brother and my mom can you
00:43:07
remember that last night did you like
00:43:09
you in that the halfway house did you
00:43:11
sleep okay or I didn't really sleep and
00:43:14
I think I just remembered like
00:43:15
journaling like pretty much writing that
00:43:18
I'd done the right thing yeah have you
00:43:21
you keept your journals and things yeah
00:43:22
yeah is that what helped make up the
00:43:24
book some of it yeah yeah yeah when was
00:43:27
the last time you reflected on that and
00:43:29
read on
00:43:30
that I think when we did the dock I went
00:43:33
through a lot of it and then you're
00:43:34
writing my book how does it make you
00:43:36
feel now when you read
00:43:38
it it like you read back and even though
00:43:41
like I was leaving and I disagreed with
00:43:43
gloral [ __ ] I was brainwashed like I was
00:43:46
messed up in my head but like you were
00:43:49
brainwashed yeah like just my view on
00:43:51
the world and
00:43:53
like what I thought I could do or be
00:43:59
just I guess I didn't know what wasn't
00:44:02
like installed for me once I left and
00:44:05
that yeah can you elaborate on that in
00:44:07
terms of that you you thought you
00:44:08
thought small or yeah thought small and
00:44:12
everything was based like all my
00:44:15
decisions I had a a scripture in the
00:44:17
Bible to back up why I did it like it
00:44:20
was always just trying to justify
00:44:22
everything and like to try and prove war
00:44:25
of our wrong in a way m yeah so um so
00:44:29
your mom and your brother drop you off
00:44:32
yeah um what's yeah how long's the car
00:44:34
ride to the bus stop maybe it was like
00:44:37
30 minutes okay you're talking or no
00:44:40
just sat there just listening to caddy
00:44:42
per on the radio just sitting there in
00:44:45
silence yeah and is it is it is it tense
00:44:47
like are they are they angry at you or
00:44:49
they not angry I think then just
00:44:52
indifferent yeah I
00:44:55
think like this sad that I'm going I
00:44:58
think and then they drop you off um is
00:45:01
it a hug I my mom gave me a hug but not
00:45:05
my brother yeah and are are you crying I
00:45:09
don't think so I think it's a lot of
00:45:12
adrenaline and
00:45:13
like just some excitements but some like
00:45:18
like it's finally happening and like
00:45:21
just coming to terms with it and you he
00:45:24
so you've got your suitcase the cloth
00:45:26
clothes on your back and when do you get
00:45:27
given the $200 yeah they gave it to me
00:45:30
then 200 bucks and like an envelope your
00:45:32
mom and your brother and can you
00:45:33
remember your last conversation with
00:45:35
both of them just the what what you said
00:45:37
earlier about my mom like the whole
00:45:39
thing about daming my soul to hell and
00:45:41
then like my brother pretty much just
00:45:43
said my kids will never hear your name
00:45:46
again and that was that bus was there
00:45:49
and it got
00:45:51
on see think it's heartbreaking yeah you
00:45:55
you num yourself to it
00:45:57
as shitty as it is but
00:46:02
yeah so the so the bus T's happen it's
00:46:05
the the first you've seen a bus before
00:46:07
you know what a bus is sort of know what
00:46:09
it
00:46:11
is this is the first time actually being
00:46:13
on a bus yeah yeah and yeah who else is
00:46:17
where do you sit on the bus who else is
00:46:18
on the bus just lots of people going to
00:46:20
the airport i s over by the window and
00:46:24
yeah didn't Che to anyone no
00:46:28
so and do you know how do you know where
00:46:29
to get off and it just took me straight
00:46:32
to the airport and once I got there I
00:46:35
don't know what to do yes so you go from
00:46:37
Greymouth to Christ Church how long is
00:46:40
the bus ride 5 hours it's a lot of time
00:46:42
in your own thought a lot of time in
00:46:44
your own thought yeah can you remember
00:46:47
what you were thinking or is it too far
00:46:49
too far I remember thinking how am I
00:46:51
what am I going to do once I get to the
00:46:53
airport and I didn't have a phone at
00:46:55
that point and I'm like how am I to know
00:46:57
who's going to pick me up like what's
00:46:58
going to happen like just that sort of
00:47:03
thing yeah who so you had a flight
00:47:06
booked from Christ Church to Orland yeah
00:47:09
yeah who who was going to pick you up um
00:47:12
yeah Alex Alex and Kei who who are they
00:47:15
so my mom grew up in odaho and knew went
00:47:17
to school with Keith they were neighbors
00:47:20
and somehow Kea came and visited one of
00:47:23
the concerts she was a real estate agent
00:47:25
and I keept one of her real estate agent
00:47:28
cards like under my drawer you know when
00:47:30
you pull a drawer out and put it under
00:47:32
so I keept one of those cards the whole
00:47:34
time and then um my mom rang her number
00:47:38
and they said they would pick me up
00:47:40
thinking I was coming for a holiday and
00:47:43
that was going to drop me back off at
00:47:44
the airport like a week later yeah oh my
00:47:47
God okay well all right we'll get to
00:47:50
them in a second um it's kind of cool
00:47:53
that your M your mom played a part in I
00:47:55
suppose helping facilitate take this
00:47:57
yeah yeah um okay so you arrive at Cross
00:48:00
yourp then what like I I'm I'm fortunate
00:48:03
enough to have done quite a bit of
00:48:04
traveling I I still get a little bit of
00:48:06
anxiety I'm at like Chang airport in
00:48:08
Singapore or a heath r or something a
00:48:10
big airport I can't imagine what it's
00:48:11
like so you're in Cross this is the
00:48:13
first first airport you've seen in your
00:48:14
life yeah I was trying to Lug my big
00:48:16
heavy bag along and then a guy came up
00:48:19
behind me and picked it up and put it on
00:48:21
a trolley and I was like here you go and
00:48:23
I was just like what just happened a guy
00:48:25
was nice to me
00:48:27
like and that just blew my mind like
00:48:29
that a man would help you um and then I
00:48:32
just went straight to the help desk um
00:48:35
managed to get on the flight yeah what
00:48:37
do you say at the help des and I just
00:48:39
showed them like my
00:48:40
ticket I had to print out piece of paper
00:48:43
and they show me where to go did you say
00:48:46
I've I've just escaped from Glory of ale
00:48:49
or no just tried to tried to bleed
00:48:53
in didn't work I feel like there'd be um
00:48:58
I mean there's such a level of awareness
00:49:00
in New Zealand about um about Glory of
00:49:03
vale um level of awareness and
00:49:05
especially in the South Island yeah so I
00:49:07
feel like most people you metet if you
00:49:09
said I've just I've just come from Glory
00:49:11
of vale and I don't know anything about
00:49:12
what I'm doing I feel like most people
00:49:13
would be you know quite compassionate
00:49:16
yeah you just you didn't want to stand
00:49:17
out like that she could probably tell
00:49:19
did you was was your your your voice a
00:49:21
bit different to what it is now you got
00:49:22
The Good Old Glory of our accent okay Al
00:49:25
so you found a good yeah cuz you could
00:49:28
easily go to the help desk and find
00:49:29
someone that wasn't as helpful yeah you
00:49:31
you really could depending on what day
00:49:33
someone's having okay so day that
00:49:36
there's little things that you don't
00:49:37
even think about like being at an
00:49:38
airport for the first time checking your
00:49:39
luggage in going through security yeah
00:49:42
so the the lady from the help desk she
00:49:44
guided you through all of that yeah
00:49:45
should just say go that place so then
00:49:47
I'd go there work that part out then i'
00:49:49
figure out the next part then you go to
00:49:52
a cafe and get a panini and that's your
00:49:53
$200 gone I don't think that yeah yeah I
00:49:59
I can't imagine what you're going
00:50:00
through so then you're waiting for your
00:50:01
flight how long's the wait a a few hours
00:50:04
so you're just waiting by the gate yeah
00:50:06
and then my flight was delayed and I
00:50:08
didn't know what was happening but made
00:50:10
on the flight somehow
00:50:13
yeah what was that like your first
00:50:15
flight at 18 is that terrifying
00:50:18
terrifying sit next to screaming baby
00:50:21
felt like
00:50:22
home but no it's just like oh [ __ ] and I
00:50:25
didn't know where ockland was like I
00:50:27
didn't know if I knew my mom grew up in
00:50:29
New Zealand but I didn't really fathom
00:50:31
that Oakland was in New Zealand so I
00:50:34
didn't really know where I was going had
00:50:36
you never seen a map no well only of
00:50:40
like Greymouth maybe they don't really
00:50:43
they don't really show you like The
00:50:45
Wider World cuz then that might make you
00:50:47
think oh what's out there yeah yeah yeah
00:50:52
um yeah can you remember much about that
00:50:54
flight like did you did the screens come
00:50:56
down down with the what did you think of
00:50:58
the first New Zealand safety video was a
00:51:00
bit boring I don't know can't remember
00:51:04
no I supp you had a lot more lot of
00:51:06
things on your mind what about when they
00:51:07
come around and they offer you like a
00:51:08
cookie or some chips or whatever did you
00:51:10
grab that coffee did you yeah had you
00:51:14
had coffee before yeah we had a little
00:51:15
black a coffee black market yeah oh you
00:51:19
weren't supposed to have coffee no right
00:51:23
caffeine right I was caffeine sinful
00:51:26
yeah right
00:51:27
yeah okay so then you get off the get
00:51:28
off the plan at ockland yeah um and all
00:51:32
I had was that real estate agent card
00:51:34
looking for the the face that matched it
00:51:37
in the air of course cuz you didn't have
00:51:39
a phone I didn't have a phone so but how
00:51:41
how did you how did you find your way to
00:51:42
the bag baggage carousel you figure all
00:51:44
that out or I just followed the group of
00:51:46
people that came off the pl I was a I
00:51:49
was a sheep for once in my
00:51:52
life it's hard to get your head around
00:51:54
just just confusing everything is and
00:51:58
how confus okay so then you yeah so the
00:52:00
tiny little um thumbnail on the the
00:52:02
credit on the the business card yeah
00:52:04
you're looking for that person even
00:52:05
though it was how how how many years old
00:52:07
was the business card
00:52:10
like four right okay and then you
00:52:13
managed to find the person yeah keither
00:52:16
and Alex yes they so they pack you up
00:52:18
they were looking for me and I just
00:52:19
ended up seeing their face right in the
00:52:22
crowd and and what did they know of you
00:52:24
just that you were there for a holiday
00:52:26
yeah they thought was coming up for a
00:52:27
holiday and they were going to drop me
00:52:28
off the next week y when did when did
00:52:30
you drop that bombshell that you a
00:52:32
long-term
00:52:33
guest I think when we got home though
00:52:36
like oh when do when do you need to go
00:52:39
back to the airport like when do we drop
00:52:40
you back and I was like oh I can't go
00:52:43
back and then yeah they sort of realized
00:52:48
oh [ __ ] what what have we got to deal
00:52:51
with a
00:52:53
teenager yeah how were they were they
00:52:55
quite quite comp
00:52:57
oh yeah 100% they were great yeah drove
00:53:00
me around like when my mom grw up and
00:53:02
like yeah it was good that's so kind
00:53:05
isn't it yeah um and quite helpful in
00:53:09
and you're teaching you about about
00:53:11
things yeah like how to catch the bus
00:53:13
and just that was for selfish reasons
00:53:15
they just didn't want to be driving you
00:53:17
around probably a traffic yeah just like
00:53:21
supermarket and getting a bank card
00:53:23
getting ID all that stuff of course yeah
00:53:27
you don't think about that so they um
00:53:28
yeah so they they pick you up from the
00:53:29
airport and then you go to Sylvia park
00:53:32
on the way home yeah yeah my God that
00:53:34
must have been mindblowing mind blowing
00:53:37
just like the the lights the stimulation
00:53:40
everything about it everything it's like
00:53:43
what is this
00:53:44
place yeah was was that terrifying or
00:53:47
exciting a little bit terrifying but
00:53:49
then just like
00:53:50
exciting yeah and then where what shops
00:53:53
do you go to just pack and save we just
00:53:55
went to pack and save it was laid out at
00:53:56
night yeah got food and like choosing
00:53:59
something to eat I don't have a
00:54:02
clue didn't have to eat
00:54:05
porridge are do you e the same as like a
00:54:07
meal schedule in glory of Ale yeah yeah
00:54:09
yeah yeah so today's we're recording
00:54:12
this on a Wednesday what would what
00:54:14
would they be having today probably
00:54:16
liver and toast liver and gravy and
00:54:19
toast for lunch and maybe like mashed
00:54:21
potato carrots some stew for dinner and
00:54:25
some hot custard
00:54:27
dessert
00:54:30
yuck um yes so what did you have that
00:54:33
first
00:54:34
night know can't remember right not Le
00:54:38
though not Le no but you or you have a
00:54:40
Coca-Cola though yeah yeah they brought
00:54:42
me a box of
00:54:44
coke what did you know about Coke
00:54:46
nothing um you must have seen it or seen
00:54:48
branding or seen like an ad yeah I knew
00:54:52
that it just had caffeine in it you're a
00:54:55
fiend Fe for
00:54:58
the so um yeah what's a I can't cuz I
00:55:02
can't remember the first time I had I
00:55:03
had um Cocola but I I've got a problem I
00:55:06
still have like three Coke Zeros a day
00:55:07
to this day I love the stuff I'm mad for
00:55:11
it so what's it like when you have a
00:55:12
Coke for the first time at
00:55:13
18 don't know you didn't like it didn't
00:55:17
like it wasn't a
00:55:19
fan and in the book you say um you sort
00:55:22
of pretended you like it um so for Alex
00:55:24
and keithy you go like M this is
00:55:26
delicious
00:55:27
they keep buying it for
00:55:29
you why just being compliant or I was
00:55:33
too scared to say that I didn't like it
00:55:35
like to have an opinion even though I
00:55:38
had opinions but I was like didn't know
00:55:41
um like how they would react M like if
00:55:44
they' be angry at me I don't know wait
00:55:47
until Sunday yeah we're going to get the
00:55:49
Coca-Cola leadership group together so
00:55:52
and they um they must have been so
00:55:55
supportive like in did they were they
00:55:58
giving you an allowance or because that
00:56:00
$200 wouldn't have gone very far no um
00:56:04
we went to Wes and got I got a a benefit
00:56:09
okay yeah Didn't I mean
00:56:12
like got me through that time and then
00:56:15
yeah can you remember how much that was
00:56:18
I think it was like $215 a week okay
00:56:21
were they charging you some board or
00:56:22
yeah they charge me like $100 a week oh
00:56:25
yeah and then um
00:56:26
the wins gave me um a voucher for the
00:56:30
warehouse it was Buzzy going to the
00:56:32
warehouse loral doesn't believe in the
00:56:34
warehouse I so you'd never you'd never
00:56:36
been because they I think when I had
00:56:39
Rosie your friend on the podcast she
00:56:41
told me maybe should been there but it
00:56:43
was you go in you never go in alone it's
00:56:45
always in peers and you go in there with
00:56:46
a purpose like to buy 100 pairs of shoes
00:56:48
that are on sale or whatever so you you
00:56:50
could just go in and have a look around
00:56:52
and yeah why why was it Buzzy just
00:56:56
because they had banned the warehouse um
00:56:59
oh cuz they were selling B yeah yeah and
00:57:02
so then it's like oh get to do something
00:57:04
GL doesn't believe in and that sort of
00:57:06
was like against what they believed in
00:57:08
was like
00:57:10
exciting oh so you wanted to make
00:57:11
yourself like Coca-Cola I reckon for
00:57:13
that
00:57:15
re it's so much to get your head
00:57:18
around like just just beginning like
00:57:20
it's like starting starting a brand new
00:57:22
life at the age of 18 when do you when
00:57:25
do you start driving lense and things
00:57:27
pretty much straight away like I had my
00:57:29
full license within a year um just pay I
00:57:33
paid for lessons and kether took me out
00:57:37
I think the first time I drove on the
00:57:38
motorway I forgot to put my seat belt on
00:57:41
I was so terrified but no straight away
00:57:45
were you motivated personally to do all
00:57:47
these things or were were they sort of
00:57:48
like telling you this is what we need to
00:57:50
do next they like guided me but I think
00:57:54
anything that a woman couldn't do Glory
00:57:56
Val I wanted to do so like women don't
00:57:59
really learn to drive or like you don't
00:58:02
get your haircut and like anything that
00:58:04
you couldn't do I wanted to prove that I
00:58:08
could yeah and what what sort of clothes
00:58:10
did you buy for yourself when you there
00:58:12
were suddenly no restrictions well
00:58:14
thankfully I was given like a lot of
00:58:16
clothes but like I think I bought my
00:58:18
first pair of jeans the first weekend I
00:58:20
was
00:58:21
out um but yeah sh they must have felt
00:58:25
so empowering so good yeah yeah and then
00:58:28
after 7 months you move out of um Alex
00:58:30
and Keith's Place geez are you still in
00:58:32
touch with them now yeah yeah yeah yep
00:58:35
it's so kind yeah they're amazing but
00:58:39
they they really they didn't need to do
00:58:40
that I suppose not really yeah they
00:58:43
could have just run gloryv back up and
00:58:45
said like this isn't okay and sent me
00:58:48
back
00:58:50
but so when you when you leave their
00:58:52
house what do you do you move into a
00:58:54
flat with others or I ended up going so
00:58:57
I was going to church for a while when I
00:58:59
first left and an old older lady from
00:59:03
one of the churches I went and lived
00:59:05
with
00:59:06
her and good old
00:59:10
pem and then when you decid decide to um
00:59:13
educate and study I went to I did a
00:59:17
level five like Early Child Care course
00:59:20
at in the first year of leaving and then
00:59:23
started working and then two years years
00:59:26
later went to aut
00:59:30
yeah yeah so so that um that first year
00:59:33
out like it it sounds it sounds exciting
00:59:35
like there's a there's a lot of exciting
00:59:38
stuff going on
00:59:40
um but at the same time it must I don't
00:59:43
know within many times where you sort of
00:59:45
found yourself like crying yourself to
00:59:46
sleep or just cry yeah all the time and
00:59:49
like I remember being in like social
00:59:52
situations of being so anxious and like
00:59:54
having to go to the bathroom to like
00:59:55
just have a cry and like know that I
00:59:59
like I don't know you just felt so out
01:00:00
of place you didn't I didn't feel like I
01:00:02
fitted in anywhere and like I was 18 but
01:00:06
I didn't feel like I was 18 you felt
01:00:09
like just a little kid or I felt really
01:00:11
naive but then also i' had been through
01:00:13
so much [ __ ] that I was like I don't
01:00:14
relate to like the typical 18-year-
01:00:17
[Music]
01:00:19
old yeah and I suppose that you you
01:00:23
think I I should feel happy like um
01:00:26
I'm doing things but then there's all
01:00:27
this trauma stuff that at this point
01:00:29
hadn't been addressed
01:00:37
yeah yeah J you been through a lot eh
01:00:41
yeah and you've yeah you've done very
01:00:43
very
01:00:44
well so why occupational
01:00:47
therapy I think helping people find
01:00:50
meaning in life is sort of what drew me
01:00:53
to it yeah I was working and with kids
01:00:56
with disabilities at the time and I
01:00:59
think helping people that didn't have a
01:01:02
voice of their own find and have a voice
01:01:05
and be do do things that they found
01:01:07
meaningful was like really cool I think
01:01:10
and I didn't have that growing up so
01:01:15
yeah are there are there many people
01:01:17
with um disabilities or special needs in
01:01:19
glor val not too many and the ones that
01:01:22
were weren't treated very nicely really
01:01:25
in what way
01:01:26
because they couldn't work they couldn't
01:01:27
tow the line and they couldn't be like
01:01:30
how never wanted them to be and there
01:01:32
was just a lot of
01:01:34
bullying
01:01:35
yeah so your sister in India um precious
01:01:39
that's your name she's been there since
01:01:41
20 2012 yeah so so she left Gloria Vale
01:01:45
uh to go to India you left four years
01:01:48
later
01:01:50
um why did she leave what are your
01:01:52
Recollections of that
01:01:54
time why did my sister yeah to go to
01:01:57
India she had visited once when she was
01:02:00
17 and then um the leaders wanted
01:02:04
someone to marry a man over there and
01:02:08
she was chosen to go and yeah so she
01:02:11
left to go marry
01:02:13
him uh and you said on the um escaping
01:02:16
Utopia documentary my goal is I will not
01:02:18
let her be forgotten yeah um and and you
01:02:22
haven't no you're still working on it
01:02:25
still working on it yeah so in the uh
01:02:28
escaping Utopia documentary there's um a
01:02:30
phone call that's recorded on camera um
01:02:32
and it was like the third call that
01:02:34
you'd had in N9 years so you had this
01:02:36
number um and you kept on trying yeah
01:02:39
but it was hardly ever answered what was
01:02:42
that like were you nervous when you know
01:02:44
when you were making the phone call on
01:02:45
camera yeah it was being recorded yeah
01:02:48
didn't you didn't well you didn't know
01:02:49
what she was going to ask it yeah
01:02:52
but no and because it's like our lives
01:02:56
are so different and it was like how do
01:02:58
I relate to her
01:03:01
yeah do
01:03:02
you yeah because the impression that you
01:03:05
got in there that escaping Utopia
01:03:07
documentary you go over to India and you
01:03:09
get the feeling um that she's miserable
01:03:13
and she's just like waiting for God to
01:03:16
save her yeah basically waiting waiting
01:03:18
to die for something better to come
01:03:19
along yeah I mean I was like I thought
01:03:23
it was going to be bad but that was
01:03:25
really bad and like I didn't even
01:03:27
recognize her she wasn't my sister like
01:03:29
she wasn't who I remembered as my sister
01:03:32
how was that seeing her on camera for
01:03:33
the first time in like 10 years
01:03:35
heartbreaking heartbreaking yeah yeah
01:03:37
you described her in that documentary as
01:03:39
lifeless yeah yeah
01:03:43
yeah yeah what did that do to you like
01:03:45
when when you when you drive away and
01:03:47
you're back at your hotel in India or
01:03:49
whatever yeah knowing you're leaving
01:03:50
your sister behind and your nieces and
01:03:52
nephews
01:03:53
um yeah
01:03:56
yeah yeah describe that
01:03:57
feeling it's just like dispar in a way
01:04:01
like it's just like there was no hope
01:04:05
and it was like how can I it was hard to
01:04:07
walk away knowing that how they were
01:04:09
living and knowing that there was like
01:04:12
no future for them and where are things
01:04:15
at now um we've done a lot of work with
01:04:19
NB and the the Border people and the
01:04:22
police um done lots of interviews memor
01:04:26
and working with Debra Manning human
01:04:27
rights lawyer um and they're they're
01:04:31
taking it quite seriously and it's work
01:04:34
in progress like we're con they updating
01:04:36
us often and yeah so for you what would
01:04:40
what would the dream scenario be in
01:04:42
terms of your sister and her family to
01:04:44
get them back to New Zealand yeah get
01:04:46
them back to New Zealand um not
01:04:49
necessarily to leave glor Val but like
01:04:52
to get them to have a life and like to
01:04:54
have
01:04:56
a choice like that that not stuck in
01:04:59
India yeah because from because from
01:05:01
what I could GA from the the vague but
01:05:04
pieces I've seen in the do documentary
01:05:05
that's the issue that they may not have
01:05:06
the necessary documentation so her
01:05:08
passport might be expired or she may not
01:05:10
be able to get passports or
01:05:11
documentation for the kids to leave the
01:05:13
country yeah okay so yeah so she might
01:05:16
come your goal would be that she might
01:05:18
come back to New Zealand potentially go
01:05:19
back into Glory of Al if that's what she
01:05:20
chooses to do with the kids you just
01:05:23
rather be in New Zealand than over in
01:05:24
India yeah and like have the support of
01:05:26
my family I mean the culture in India is
01:05:30
not great and like how she's been like
01:05:33
the abuse the cycle of abuse that's in
01:05:35
New Zealand gloral is carried on over
01:05:38
there and like the kids aren't safe and
01:05:40
she's not
01:05:42
safe um where does this energy for you
01:05:46
come from like to keep to keep fighting
01:05:48
like you've you know it's hard enough
01:05:50
work um you know establishing your own
01:05:53
life and your own career like as a as a
01:05:55
you know a woman that's newly fairly
01:05:57
newly like you know escaped or exited
01:06:00
Glory of veil yeah um yeah where does
01:06:02
the energy come from for you like to
01:06:03
keep fighting for your sister I think
01:06:05
the sense of justice and the sense of
01:06:08
that everyone deserves to have the
01:06:12
choice to leave gloral that I had and my
01:06:14
sister doesn't have that choice right
01:06:16
now and neither do her
01:06:19
kids what do you think she makes of um
01:06:21
you and the life you're leading now who
01:06:24
knows I mean I hope that she looks them
01:06:28
and sees
01:06:30
like that at least I have a future and a
01:06:33
choice now um and that I'm happy um but
01:06:38
yeah I don't know was she your older
01:06:41
sister yeah she's my older sister yeah
01:06:44
what what was she like was she more
01:06:45
compliant than what you were more
01:06:47
compliant yeah and like really cared
01:06:49
about what the leaders thought and like
01:06:51
just trying to get by m and just wanting
01:06:55
to get away from like the abuse of like
01:06:58
my
01:06:59
father well here here in New Zealand
01:07:01
there's um round about 5 million of us
01:07:04
um and only 600 of that 5 million are in
01:07:07
glory of our so what could the rest of
01:07:09
us do to help or
01:07:11
support I think like keep ringing your
01:07:14
local MPS keep um like asking questions
01:07:18
about that like asking what they're
01:07:19
going to do but like if you ever metet
01:07:21
someone from gloral like just I guess
01:07:25
treat them like a normal person like
01:07:26
don't put us all in in a box but
01:07:30
also yeah have talk say hello M but in
01:07:36
terms of shutting down gloral I think
01:07:39
it's just you're keeping on like
01:07:41
advocating and like if there's either
01:07:43
petitions or anything like just join it
01:07:46
and like there's always someone there's
01:07:49
always cases but yeah but listen listen
01:07:52
to our stories when when people meet
01:07:55
yeah what what do they what do they want
01:07:57
to know is it basically the Instagram
01:07:58
questions I had a lot of it is does that
01:08:01
get annoying or a little bit annoying
01:08:04
and some sometimes people tell you how
01:08:07
glor vals running it's like okay but
01:08:10
then they don't listen to you so then I
01:08:12
don't really have time for and real so
01:08:14
they're basing it on what they've seen
01:08:15
on TV or yeah what sort of things what
01:08:18
are they saying oh they just ask you
01:08:20
like oh so this happened to you and it's
01:08:22
like not really like that but like they
01:08:24
think that they know how glor Bells run
01:08:28
yeah it's so annoying when you meet
01:08:30
people like that yeah yeah yeah I mean
01:08:34
there's um there's a saying that you've
01:08:36
got one you know one mouth and two ears
01:08:38
and you should use them and equal yeah
01:08:42
um okay let's talk about your life now
01:08:44
just as we wrap up so you put a post on
01:08:47
um Instagram last September where you
01:08:48
talked about your medication for
01:08:50
depression yep yeah how's your mental
01:08:53
health now um good good M stable as good
01:08:58
as it can be I think it's a it's a
01:09:00
journey yeah how so how was your mental
01:09:02
health and and Glory of our like up
01:09:03
until the age of 18 just like anxiety
01:09:07
and like just numb
01:09:11
and wasn't life wasn't really worth
01:09:14
living you did you ever contemplate um
01:09:17
like taking your own life in glory
01:09:20
of not really it was only once I left
01:09:24
yeah yeah
01:09:26
you
01:09:28
okay when was that first two years first
01:09:32
three were really hard like frequently
01:09:36
yeah and lots of panic attacks lots of
01:09:38
just like what am I doing like yeah
01:09:43
that's so understandable yeah um but you
01:09:46
see from the glory of our leaders
01:09:48
perspective they'd be like see this is
01:09:50
what exactly they would blame it on the
01:09:52
fact that you've left the security of
01:09:54
Glory Avail it's
01:09:56
like oh it's just like
01:09:58
I yeah I mean I'm an a of what you've
01:10:01
done like I can't imagine being in your
01:10:03
position at the age of 18 and like
01:10:04
starting to set up a life from brand new
01:10:06
at that point it's a lot to go through
01:10:08
so I'm not surprised how did you how did
01:10:10
you get out of that sort of fun Co how
01:10:11
did you get through
01:10:12
that
01:10:14
um therapy and like just talking about
01:10:18
it um and then just writing things down
01:10:23
and I think going to UNI sort of sa
01:10:25
saved me in a way yeah opened up my
01:10:28
world viw yeah yeah who how did you know
01:10:32
about therapy or who who suggested you
01:10:33
get therapy it was
01:10:36
after it was after I did my first police
01:10:39
statement um in
01:10:42
2018 and then yeah they offered me a
01:10:44
therapist you get like five free
01:10:47
sessions and then you got to find your
01:10:48
own and yeah that was a mission of its
01:10:53
own yeah everything's everything's a
01:10:55
mission know yeah so oh yes what was the
01:10:57
what was the police meeting for just um
01:11:00
a statement to like report some of my um
01:11:04
abuse like sexual abuse as a child
01:11:08
yeah was that from your father no from
01:11:11
family members okay
01:11:14
okay has that been addressed by the
01:11:17
courts no never went further
01:11:21
right how do you feel about that
01:11:25
it's it's hard to like feel that you've
01:11:28
been heard but I think as long as it's
01:11:30
in the system and there's a record and
01:11:32
no one else gets hurt by the same person
01:11:35
I feel like it was worth
01:11:38
doing was there like a rock bottom
01:11:40
moment for you after leaving Glory of
01:11:45
V I think yeah 2018 I moved house like
01:11:51
five times and like just feeling like
01:11:55
what's the point what's the point of
01:11:58
life and just
01:12:00
[Music]
01:12:02
yeah how are you today when we're
01:12:04
sitting here today in
01:12:06
2025 I think this year is going to be
01:12:08
good I'm like grounded and know who I am
01:12:12
and
01:12:13
like yeah building my confidence yeah
01:12:18
and um Kevin your partner yeah when did
01:12:21
you guys meet how how how did this
01:12:23
relationship come about well we meet
01:12:24
through
01:12:25
friends
01:12:27
um and then yeah we started going out
01:12:32
and just over six years later we're
01:12:34
still
01:12:35
together it's awesome yeah great that's
01:12:38
cool so you met three friends um did he
01:12:41
did he know about your your history that
01:12:43
you from glor no no just from me I had
01:12:46
sort of told him he wasn't phased at all
01:12:49
was curious or any questions or he was
01:12:52
curious but more like that I was okay
01:12:54
and like
01:12:55
like are your family still ping you and
01:12:58
like just more like making sure I was
01:13:01
okay just supportive yeah yeah which is
01:13:03
how how a healthy relationship should be
01:13:05
exactly yeah yeah you what are your
01:13:08
plans for the future so you guys got a
01:13:10
house y you um his his um childhood cat
01:13:14
has just recently died at the age of 14
01:13:17
Y and yeah we're going to get a dog in a
01:13:19
couple of weeks so yeah and then just
01:13:22
travel yeah yep you we you want to go
01:13:25
what do you want to do I want to go to
01:13:27
Japan but he wants to go to Mongolia
01:13:29
don't ask me why
01:13:32
but now how do you feel about the future
01:13:34
you feel optimistic yeah yeah yeah it's
01:13:37
it's daunting like I have to try not to
01:13:40
think about my sister in India too much
01:13:43
in terms of like sometimes I feel like
01:13:45
I'm not doing
01:13:47
enough
01:13:49
but just got to keep having the
01:13:51
conversations and keep working on it and
01:13:54
know that something will happen and what
01:13:57
brings you Joy
01:13:59
now um just life and like nature
01:14:05
um my job and yeah having a home yeah
01:14:09
having a place to call home yeah do you
01:14:12
have more happy days than sad days
01:14:14
definitely yeah
01:14:17
yeah yeah and we've mentioned your
01:14:19
sister that's um over in India and
01:14:21
you've got another sister that's just
01:14:22
sitting through the other side of the
01:14:24
glass right now yeah um she's only been
01:14:27
out 3 years yeah how how's how's she
01:14:29
doing cuz I
01:14:30
suppose I mean you've got a big head
01:14:32
start on her like 5 years so you can
01:14:34
sort of picture where you were 3 years
01:14:36
in which was a dark place um how's she
01:14:39
doing she's doing good just like keeping
01:14:42
on having conversations
01:14:46
and helping her find her confidence but
01:14:48
she's doing really well um just
01:14:51
navigating the therapy like the ACC
01:14:54
therapy system is really tough so and
01:14:58
and that's like a big passion for me is
01:15:00
like helping that that become easier for
01:15:02
other levers like helping them being
01:15:04
able to access that support yeah yeah
01:15:07
how often do you see a therapist now
01:15:10
every week still yeah do you find it
01:15:12
helpful it is helpful but do you find a
01:15:15
good one I have found a good one now but
01:15:18
it's taken me a while yeah it yeah it
01:15:22
can take a while yeah they say that
01:15:24
about I I put off go to therapy for a
01:15:26
long time for that reason because some
01:15:28
friends of mine said oh it's really good
01:15:29
but you know it takes a while to find
01:15:30
the right one it's like I don't want to
01:15:32
have that introductory session over and
01:15:34
over again it's like I just rather you
01:15:38
just bottle things up but um if you if
01:15:40
you persist through it and find a good
01:15:42
one that is um well worthwhile yeah yeah
01:15:46
100%
01:15:48
yeah you think you'll ever fully get
01:15:50
over the trauma no I think it's with you
01:15:53
for life yeah
01:15:55
but you're managing to coexist with it
01:15:57
yeah yeah yeah and this book um a story
01:16:03
of surviving Glory of
01:16:05
unveiled proud of it very proud yeah
01:16:08
yeah how do you feel about it coming out
01:16:10
like um anxiety nerves a little bit
01:16:12
nervous but I hope I've like done it
01:16:16
justice and like used my voice well
01:16:20
enough in it I guess like The Advocate
01:16:22
like for other women and not just women
01:16:25
from gloral but like women in any
01:16:27
controlled
01:16:29
environment
01:16:31
yeah I I can see why you were um when
01:16:33
you were still in glor why you attracted
01:16:35
to Katie Perry's music it's um it's very
01:16:37
um female empowerment yeah yeah you know
01:16:41
you're going to hear me roar it's it's a
01:16:43
great song yeah and you know you're a
01:16:44
firework um yeah I think um Katy Per
01:16:49
would like to hear that yeah yeah I
01:16:51
think like the the name of the book um
01:16:54
like whole unveiled part is like in
01:16:57
their woman wear veils like their head
01:16:59
scarf and that's supposed to mean that
01:17:02
they're in submission to the men and
01:17:04
like that they don't have a voice so
01:17:06
like that was the reason for calling it
01:17:08
unveiled like taking off that Veil and
01:17:11
using the voice that I have yeah using
01:17:14
like working with my strengths and being
01:17:17
me do do you have um at the time we're
01:17:21
recording this the book's yet to be
01:17:22
released do you have like moments where
01:17:24
you wake up in the middle of the night
01:17:25
thinking about you know some old friends
01:17:28
or family reading it and you know what I
01:17:30
mean those moments of like what the Yeah
01:17:33
[ __ ] this kind of there might be some
01:17:36
people questioning themselves like I
01:17:38
don't know if you read in that part
01:17:39
about the my my I don't know just the
01:17:42
things I used to get up to and glor like
01:17:44
spitting in the Leader ice cream oh no I
01:17:50
yesterday I'm a real slow reader oh my
01:17:52
God is that right
01:17:55
I think there might be some leaders
01:17:56
thinking [ __ ] wasn't mine
01:18:01
but oh what else what other stuff did
01:18:03
you get out to oh um we used to go on
01:18:06
like vacations once a year like know our
01:18:09
family went to puni one year um and it's
01:18:12
quite quite a touristy sort of place and
01:18:14
like I found a beer bottle in the bush
01:18:17
and pretended to be drunk one time it's
01:18:20
like my Goro outfit like 14 stum I was
01:18:23
like stumbling around and
01:18:25
pretending to be
01:18:27
drunk how how did you how did you know
01:18:29
what it meant to be drunk I don't I
01:18:31
think just from movies I think oh yeah
01:18:34
um like in the movies that like
01:18:35
portrayed the world as being a bad place
01:18:38
yeah and I and part of me wanted like
01:18:40
embarrass
01:18:41
glor what's your relationship with
01:18:43
alcohol like now can you remember the
01:18:45
first time you got drunk yeah was that
01:18:48
18 18 after you got out yeah well there
01:18:50
was they have Hound in gloro they what
01:18:53
this the home grew it was called Hound
01:18:56
they don't make it anymore but a wh
01:18:57
Hound wh Hound was made from hops it
01:18:59
tastes like Spates right we used to
01:19:01
drink that like 1.5 L bottles of that
01:19:04
stuff but like who who you and you and
01:19:06
the bad kids yeah would break the locks
01:19:08
and get
01:19:10
it but um outside I think the first the
01:19:14
first thing I think I got drunk off was
01:19:15
like a bottle of
01:19:17
scrumpy um but
01:19:21
no have a good red wine now can't go
01:19:24
wrong don't we all sister centr Flo pen
01:19:26
on tell you what it's the best hey um
01:19:30
it's been great to uh sit down with you
01:19:32
today Theo yeah thank you it's really
01:19:34
cool um I'm incredibly proud of you and
01:19:37
I hope you're proud of yourself too yeah
01:19:38
definitely oh and Taylor Smith now what
01:19:40
do we what do we think we like Taylor
01:19:43
yeah she's great yeah yeah that's good
01:19:46
all right hey um best of luck for the
01:19:47
book hey thank you and um best of luck
01:19:50
for the future hopefully um yeah
01:19:52
hopefully there's more happy days than
01:19:53
sad days yep
01:19:55
hopefully there is

Podspun Insights

In this captivating episode, Theo Pratt opens up about her journey from the confines of Glory Vale to a life of newfound freedom and self-discovery. With her book, "Unveiled: A Story of Surviving Glory Vale," freshly released, she shares the cathartic process of writing it, which unearthed painful yet transformative memories from her childhood. Theo reflects on her complex relationship with her mother, who once condemned her to hell for leaving, and how they have slowly rebuilt their bond through understanding and communication.

The conversation dives deep into the challenges of adjusting to life outside the strict confines of Glory Vale, where Theo was raised. She candidly discusses the lack of basic life skills she faced upon leaving, from managing money to navigating social interactions. With humor and resilience, she recounts her first experiences with pop culture, fast food, and the overwhelming sensations of freedom.

Listeners are treated to a mix of lighthearted anecdotes and serious reflections, as Theo discusses her sister still trapped in India and her ongoing fight to bring her back to New Zealand. The episode is a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit, the importance of choice, and the journey toward healing and empowerment.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 95
    Most inspiring
  • 95
    Best concept / idea
  • 90
    Most emotional
  • 90
    Most heartbreaking

Episode Highlights

  • Reconnecting with Family
    Theo shares her journey of rekindling her relationship with her mother after leaving Glory of Val.
    “It’s been a journey... opened up our relationship.”
    @ 02m 04s
    March 02, 2025
  • Life in Glory of Val
    A glimpse into the structured yet joyless life of young women in Glory of Val.
    “It feels like it’s a life with very little joy.”
    @ 12m 33s
    March 02, 2025
  • Facing Consequences
    Theo describes the anxiety of facing disciplinary meetings for breaking rules in Glory of Val.
    “You’re eventually going to have to face the music.”
    @ 15m 50s
    March 02, 2025
  • First Experiences Outside
    Experiencing fast food and shopping for the first time after leaving.
    “Sylvia Park was overwhelming.”
    @ 24m 58s
    March 02, 2025
  • Realization of Potential
    Discovering that women can hold powerful positions, a revelation after leaving.
    “That woman could have an education.”
    @ 25m 53s
    March 02, 2025
  • Leaving Glory of Val
    A journey of self-discovery and breaking free from a restrictive community.
    “I just thought something had to be better than that.”
    @ 36m 18s
    March 02, 2025
  • Leaving Glory of Vale
    The emotional turmoil of leaving a restrictive environment and the impact on identity.
    “It’s heartbreaking, yeah, you numb yourself to it.”
    @ 45m 51s
    March 02, 2025
  • First Experiences of Freedom
    Navigating life outside Glory of Vale, from clothing choices to social situations.
    “It’s like starting a brand new life at the age of 18.”
    @ 57m 20s
    March 02, 2025
  • Finding a Voice
    The journey into occupational therapy and helping others find meaning in life.
    “Helping people find meaning in life is what drew me to it.”
    @ 01h 00m 53s
    March 02, 2025
  • Escaping Utopia Documentary
    A recorded phone call reveals the stark differences in their lives after years apart.
    “I didn’t even recognize her; she wasn’t my sister.”
    @ 01h 03m 27s
    March 02, 2025
  • Mental Health Journey
    Sharing her struggles with mental health and the importance of therapy.
    “It’s a journey.”
    @ 01h 08m 58s
    March 02, 2025
  • Book Release Anxiety
    Feeling nervous about her book's release and its impact on others.
    “I hope I’ve done it justice.”
    @ 01h 16m 16s
    March 02, 2025

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Reconnecting with Mom02:04
  • Life Skills05:17
  • Excitement to Leave40:01
  • First Bus Ride46:05
  • New Beginnings57:20
  • Finding Independence1:00:09
  • Fighting for Justice1:06:05
  • Book Release1:16:16

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown