In this episode, Charis describes her childhood in a high-control, Bible-based cult with gentle humor and candor. Her father, a minister and narcissist, and her mother, a home-maker with a “subversive” streak, who dared to allow Harry Potter books into their home, raised three children in the group. Charis describes her journey from obedient, Christian girl on the path to marriage and motherhood, to independent young woman realizing she’d been brought up on the fallacy that marriage and motherhood were her only choices. When her marriage plans end abruptly, she realizes that “doing all the right things” does not lead to the fairy tale ending promised by the church community. When the same community isolates her after the breakup, she turns to new friends outside the church and they give her the language, environment and social support to leave and claim her authentic life. Charis discusses her now deceased mother who also left the church but faces tragedy within a year of her exit. Hear how this loss catalyzes Charis to build a new life, based on her authentic beliefs, morals and principles, leaving behind black and white rigidity and control for multi-hued horizons.

You can listen to Charis and her sister on their podcast: Adventures in Ideology | Podcast on Spotify https://share.google/kPGfcg5YFtoS5YnQC



Trigger Warning: Due to these episodes containing stories that involve cults and other types of coercive control that may be disturbing to some, listener discretion is advised.

You can find Living Cult Free on social media, especially on Instagram, at livingcultfree Our website is livingcultfree.com where the mission is to support the creative expression of survivor stories and empower advocacy through education.

At the website above, you can:

Contact us to share your story
Meet who runs and collaborates with Living Cult Free
Make a donation to help further Living Cult Free’s mission
Thank you for your support!



©2026 Living Cult Free

Intro & outro by Jon Snow; Original Music by Esther Friedman

Editing and production by Vanessa Hennessey

Huge thanks to Living Cult Free’s intern, Nikki Kattamuri, and the Living Cult Free Board of Directors.

Music found on Pixabay by: Alana Jordan, Anastasia Chubarova, Dilip, Folk_acoustic, Freesound_community, JefWakeUp, Juan Sanchez, Lil hex, Luis Humanoide, Nikita Kondrashev

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Living Cult Free. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The Living Cult Free name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

Today, Harold D’Souza is a globally recognized survivor advocate & co-founder of Eyes Open International - a non-profit organization dedicated to prevention, research and education.

In this episode, he recounts his harrowing journey from free man in India to slave laborer in the United States. When a human trafficker lured him with a fictitious business development management position, Harold thought his dreams were coming true. Instead, he moved with his wife and two young sons into an impossible to imagine nightmare. As soon as they landed in America, the trafficker exploited his immigrant status to entrap his entire family.

Learn how traffickers leverage the hopes of those who come to the United States for better lives. Hear how Harold’s brush with death led to their dramatic escape. Celebrate Harold’s triumphs which include: his book, Frog in a Well: Turning obstacles to opportunities; several awards including the UN’s prestigious Human Rights Hero Award; an appointment to the United States Advisory Council by Barack Obama and providing expert consultations to the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

But mostly, listen to his irrepressible enthusiasm and optimism as a man who survived hell and still believes that anything is possible if you don’t give up on yourself.

Find Eyes Open International at their website

Mentioned in this episode:

• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline
• Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio
• Cincinnati Works
• National Human Trafficking Hotline - US

Trigger Warning: Due to these episodes containing stories that involve cults and other types of coercive control that may be disturbing to some, listener discretion is advised.

You can find Living Cult Free on social media, especially on Instagram, at livingcultfree Our website is livingcultfree.com where the mission is to support the creative expression of survivor stories and empower advocacy through education.

At the website above, you can:

• Contact us to share your story
• Meet who runs and collaborates with Living Cult Free
• Make a donation to help further Living Cult Free’s mission

Thank you for your support!

©2026 Living Cult Free

Intro & outro by Jon Snow; Original Music by Esther Friedman

Editing and production by Vanessa Hennessey

Huge thanks to Living Cult Free’s intern, Nikki Kattamuri, and the Living Cult Free Board of Directors.

Music and sound found on Pixabay, by:

Alexaa221, AtlasAudio, Chrysalyn Chrysalyn, Dmitrii Kolesnikov, Furkan Lim, Hoene Mike, Omar Faruque, Rahul Vaghela, Ribhav Agrawal, SoundUniverseStudio.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Living Cult Free. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The Living Cult Free name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

Classical violinist, Matthew Castle, describes growing up in a cloistered echo chamber of blind obedience, misogyny, high control, “us versus them,” and feeling like, “I never fit in…” to the culture of constant judgement. As a teen, he recognized that he was attracted to men, which cult leaders considered “the worst sin”. Over time, he saw, “I had to either completely repress myself, or I was going to have to leave.”

Listen to learn the series of painful events, including a “conversion therapy” conference, that all contributed to him “leaving my entire life, everyone I’d known,” with a duffle bag and his violin at 18. But also listen to hear about his triumphs, and how instrumental music, specifically, catalyzes healing for him. He also shares recovery wisdom for others currently taking their lives back from abusive relational systems.

Trigger Warning: Due to these episodes containing stories that involve cults and other types of coercive control that may be disturbing to some, listener discretion is advised.

Find Matthew at paulcastlestudio.com and at Matthew & Paul (Instagram / Facebook / TikTok).

Mentioned in this episode: Shiny Happy People documentary

You can find Living Cult Free on social media, especially on Instagram, at livingcultfree Our website is livingcultfree.com. The mission of Living Cult Free is to highlight survivor voices, strengthen self-agency, and provide education that builds resilience against coercion and abuse.

At the website above, you can:

• Contact us to share your story
• Meet who runs and collaborates with Living Cult Free
• Make a donation to help further Living Cult Free’s mission

Thank you for your support!

©2026 Living Cult Free

Intro & outro by Jon Snow; Original Music by Esther Friedman

Editing and production by Vanessa Hennessey

Huge thanks to Living Cult Free’s intern, Nikki Kattamuri, and the Living Cult Free Board of Directors.

Music and sound:

European Archive and Li-Mei via Musopen

Ashot Danielyan, Danny Ballan, folk_acoustic_music, freesound_community, Sergii Pavkin via Pixabay

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Living Cult Free. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The Living Cult Free name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.