Told in a beautiful, propulsive voice and with clear-eyed honesty, Uncultured first takes us behind the tall gates of a commune in Brazil, where Daniella Mestyanek Young was raised in the religious cult The Children of God, also known as The Family. From a young age, Daniella suffered from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse-masked as religious discipline and divine love-and was forbidden from getting a traditional education.

At fifteen years old, fed up with The Family and determined to build a better and freer life for herself, Daniella escaped to Texas. There, she bravely enrolled herself in high school and excelled, later graduating as valedictorian of her college class, then electing to join the military to begin a career as a military intelligence officer. She soon discovers, however, that her new world - surrounded by men on the sands of Afghanistan - looks remarkably similar to the one she desperately tried to leave behind.

More than a coming-of-age memoir about an exceptional upbringing, Uncultured explores the dangers unleashed when harmful group mentality goes unrecognized, and is emblematic of the many ways that women have to contort themselves to survive.

Daniella Mestyanek Young is a veteran’s activist and speaker and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from Harvard University. While serving in the military, Daniella became one of the first women in history to conduct deliberate ground combat operations alongside her male counterparts and received the Presidential Volunteer Service Medal.

With a sensational voice and a remarkable story, this is a memoir that has the makings of a classic bestseller in the genre.