[Content Warning]: Discussions and descriptions of a firsthand account of childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, animal cruelty, and religious manipulation within a controlling family system.

For years, the world knew Elishaba Doerksen’s father only as "Papa Pilgrim", the patriarch who led his family of fifteen children deep into the Alaska wilderness, cut off from roads, neighbors, and anyone who might ask questions. What the world didn’t know was what was happening inside that isolation.

In Part One of this two-part conversation, Elishaba sits down with Jan Broberg to share, in her own words, what it was like to grow up as the oldest of fifteen siblings under her father’s total control, the religious manipulation that kept the family bound to him, the abuse she endured for years, and the slow, careful process of recognizing, as an adult, that none of it was ever her fault.

This is not an easy listen, but it is an honest one. Elishaba speaks with remarkable clarity about how abuse takes root, how faith can be twisted into a weapon, and how even inside the worst circumstances, small moments of truth can plant the seed that eventually grows into freedom.

Part One ends at the turning point — the moment Elishaba decided she could not stay another day. Part Two picks up with the escape itself and the long road that followed.

Elishaba is the author of Out of the Wilderness, and today she speaks around the world as an advocate for survivors of abuse.

Where To Find Elishaba:
Out of the Wilderness: Escaping My Father's Prison and My Journey to Forgiveness – Buy It On Amazon
Insta: @elishabadoerksen

If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or suicidal ideation, please access the resources below:

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call/Text 988
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) : 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
National Alliance for Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264

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