![]() ![]() ![]() GROSS: So when you were in this cult and you were a child, I mean, you were born into it. And you can see all the times you're lying to yourself while you're writing it. And, yeah, at a certain point, I think writing it, more than anything, brought that out is the problem with writing is you kind of have to tell the truth or it's crap and you know it. I spent a long time lying to myself more than, I think, anyone else, telling myself that, you know, my childhood didn't affect me, telling myself that, you know, the military didn't affect me. I told - I mean, I stuck with a lot of half-truths. So, I mean, am I right in saying that, that they weren't exactly lies? And your parents kind of were missionaries. GROSS: You know, like, why would I think they're going to tell me the truth? Then I realized, actually, the things that you said there, they're not exactly lies, you know? You lived in the places you say you lived. I thought, I don't want to interview somebody who's been lying all their life. You know, I should tell you, the first paragraph really scared me when I read it. It's the truth, the thought of telling it that triggers my awkward laugh and my sweaty palms, makes me not want to look you in the eye. I'm better at lying than I am at telling the truth because the lies don't make me nervous. I'll tell you my parents were missionaries. (Reading) If you ask me where I'm from, I'll lie to you. LAUREN HOUGH: Thank you so much for having me. This is the first paragraph from the first essay called "Solitaire." And I want you to read the first paragraph of your new collection. And now she has a new book of personal essays called "Leaving Isn't The Hardest Thing." Lauren Hough, welcome to FRESH AIR. That led her to keep writing personal essays. And her essay about working as a cable guy went viral. The ones she held the longest were working as a bouncer in a gay club and working as a cable guy. She was homeless and lived in a car, then had a number of jobs. So that was another part of her identity she couldn't reveal.Īfter the military, things didn't get easier. It was the '90s, the don't ask, don't tell era. By then, it was too late to be able to fit in with other kids or in high school. She was a teenager by the time she was out of the cult for good. And she and her family lived in several countries, including the U.S., Chile, Argentina, Japan and Germany, where she was born. Lauren Hough's parents joined the cult when they were 19. The founder, David Berg, initially preached to hippies in Southern California. The cult was also known as the Family of Love and then just the Family. For years, my guest Lauren Hough found it easier and more believable to lie than to tell the truth, because the truth was she grew up in a doomsday Christian cult, the Children of God, which for several years was also a sex cult. ![]()
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