'We were told that the leaders were given the power to bind us to or loose us from heaven. If I died suddenly, which I always believed was a real possibility, and I didn't meet Hopeful's definition of a good woman of God, I would go to hell.'

To survive in Gloriavale, you must submit. And for the first 27 years of her life, that's what Rosanna Overcomer tries hard to do – live a life of complete obedience, serving the church above all else. But once her eyes are opened to what is really going on in the secretive religious sect, she can't look away.

Beyond the Gates of Gloriavale is a blisteringly honest memoir about what it takes to endure life in Gloriavale and what it costs to leave. But it is also a love story. Because it is Rosie's marriage to Elijah that strengthens her quiet defiance, and the birth of their first daughter that makes her realise there is no safe future for any child in Gloriavale.

What follows sees Rosie and her family kidnapped and separated from each other, while she becomes what the Gloriavale leaders fear most: a powerful threat.

This explosive memoir is both a reclamation of identity and a testament to the power of love – and to what a mother will do for her children.