For immediate release—December 6, 2024

Toronto, ON – Ingenium Books is about to publish a memoir by the survivor of a Canadian cult. Born and Razed: Surviving the Cult was Only Half the Battle by Beth Granger is the story of being raised in an abusive cult and, as an adult, holding her abusers to account in court.

“Very few survivors of cults or religious abuse have the chance to hold their abusers accountable in court,” Granger says. “I knew that our school could serve as a cautionary tale. I wanted to shine a spotlight on the dangers of radical religious institutions, and how they so often operate as if they’re above the law. Which is the ugly truth."

Granger was the first child born and raised at Grenville Christian College, the now defunct private school that was affiliated with the Community of Jesus, a controversial sect based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Her parents were teachers at the school. Growing up, Granger was subjected to constant emotional abuse—including being separated from her parents for much of her young life—by the school’s staff. Being told at the age of five that she was a glutton who needed to lose weight led to a lifelong struggle with eating disorders. She was also diagnosed with C-PTSD as an adult.

In 2008, Granger was one of a group of former Grenville Christian College students who brought a class action lawsuit against the school for the emotional, physical and sexual abuse inflicted on them as children. As a former staff kid, she became one of five representative plaintiffs in the case, which would result in a historic CAD $10,875,000 settlement by the school’s insurers after sixteen years of legal battles.

"Ironically, religious freedoms cover a multitude of sins," says Granger. "As the conservative Christian movement is gaining strength and wielding political power, I feel now is the time for survivors of religious extremism to speak up.”

“When I read the manuscript for the first time, I knew we had to publish Born and Razed,” says Boni Wagner-Stafford, publisher at Ingenium Books. “It’s a gut-punch that will leave you fuming but it’s also a story of hope. And it’s been an honour for us at Ingenium to give Beth a platform to tell her story.”

Born and Razed: Surviving the Cult was Only Half the Battle is slated for release in early 2025.

Media inquiries:

Boni Wagner-Stafford, publisher, Ingenium Books
boni@ingeniumbooks.com
1-(647)-576-2434