Michelle Dowd was born into a cult that was literally training boys to fight in God’s army when the apocalypse came.It started in sunny Pasadena, California when her grandfather - a former Boy Scout leader - decided the Scouts weren’t strict enough and built his own organization. Boys were recruited young, drilled like soldiers, and raised to believe they were preparing for the end of the world.Michelle grew up inside the group known as “The Field,” running miles before breakfast, enduring military-style obedience drills, selling candy to fund the movement, and eventually living for years on a remote mountain with basically no formal education.What eventually happened is almost unbelievable: a secret college application, a full scholarship, and a cult survivor with no formal education… to becoming a professor teaching critical thinking.Michelle Dowd is now a writer and the author of Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult._____________________________________MICHELLE DOWD LINKS → Instagram @michelledowdz | Subscribe to Michelle's FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTERListen to Michelle's book "Forager" on SPOTIFY FOR FREEPick up a copy of Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult"Michelle’s NYT Modern Love essay: “Love in a Time of Low Expectations”***Tyler’s mascot book mention: Where Are the Fighting Giraffes? by David WinderFOLLOW US For more culty content - follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacultSUPPORT THE SHOWJoin our Patreon! Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. (And our forever gratitude)HAVE A CULTY STORY?Email us → [email protected] Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.