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Woman Rising: A True Story
Three-time author and female business leader Julia McCoy brings multiple genres together in her electrifying, non-fiction true story, Woman A True Story, guaranteed to have you turning each page.
Growing up under a narcissistic cult leader, Woman A True Story tells the unbelievable true story of one woman’s ability to defy the odds and rise up despite a terrible upbringing, build a business empire, and find her complete life path—through recovery and healing, to personal and professional success as a woman CEO. Woman A True Story is a memoir that goes above and beyond a story of childhood trauma.
“…with vivid imagery and eloquent language, Julia immerses the reader in her story of a difficult childhood while also providing guideposts for self-discovery along the way. This is a brave and important work.” - Anna LeBaron, author, The Polygamist’s Daughter
Follow the author, Julia McCoy, on an incredible journey from birth to present-day at the age of twenty-nine.
This narrative true story of female leadership, post-trauma survival, and entrepreneurial success is told in two
Woman A True Story is best-selling non-fiction author, entrepreneur, and content marketing expert Julia McCoy’s debut narrative nonfiction memoir.
OVERVIEW
In Part 1, experience the painful, tragic story of Julia's upbringing, and how she was born into the house of a cult leader in Pennsylvania, who hid the truth of her daily environment completely from the public eye. His beliefs, rooted in radical Calvinist Christianity and Puritanical Fundamentalism, taught the total submission of wives, corporal punishment (beating with rods) of children, and other forms of familial abuse hidden from the world behind closed doors.
Julia's childhood tragedy, pain, and terror is painted in vivid, real scenes as she brings her story to life through the written word. Feel her passion and energy come alive as she pursues bold, money-making ideas at a young age, eventually building a brand while living in her father's house. Read about the night she escaped his house, in 2012 at twenty-one years old.
In Part 2, follow Julia on an unbelievable (true) journey of discovering normal life, finding faith and healing, getting married to the man of her dreams; becoming a parent, best-selling author, and the creator of no less than four successful brands in very competitive industries. Read about her trials, successes, and the reality of building businesses from scratch that last and stand the test of time. Julia's steps to business success are laid out in real, practical details, with every up and down.
The lessons from Julia's entrepreneurial journey, told throughout the book with moments of self-reflection, form a real-life entrepreneurial manual for others wanting to create businesses from scratch that last.
Julia’s nonfiction memoir is one you will not forget. Her story marries these female leadership books, entrepreneurial advice, and true stories of survival.
Learn more about Julia’s nonprofit and the mission behind her womanrisingproject.org.
Some parts of Woman A True Story , especially Julia’s childhood in a cult told in truth and transparency, are dark and disturbing (be warned).
Growing up under a narcissistic cult leader, Woman A True Story tells the unbelievable true story of one woman’s ability to defy the odds and rise up despite a terrible upbringing, build a business empire, and find her complete life path—through recovery and healing, to personal and professional success as a woman CEO. Woman A True Story is a memoir that goes above and beyond a story of childhood trauma.
“…with vivid imagery and eloquent language, Julia immerses the reader in her story of a difficult childhood while also providing guideposts for self-discovery along the way. This is a brave and important work.” - Anna LeBaron, author, The Polygamist’s Daughter
Follow the author, Julia McCoy, on an incredible journey from birth to present-day at the age of twenty-nine.
This narrative true story of female leadership, post-trauma survival, and entrepreneurial success is told in two
Woman A True Story is best-selling non-fiction author, entrepreneur, and content marketing expert Julia McCoy’s debut narrative nonfiction memoir.
OVERVIEW
In Part 1, experience the painful, tragic story of Julia's upbringing, and how she was born into the house of a cult leader in Pennsylvania, who hid the truth of her daily environment completely from the public eye. His beliefs, rooted in radical Calvinist Christianity and Puritanical Fundamentalism, taught the total submission of wives, corporal punishment (beating with rods) of children, and other forms of familial abuse hidden from the world behind closed doors.
Julia's childhood tragedy, pain, and terror is painted in vivid, real scenes as she brings her story to life through the written word. Feel her passion and energy come alive as she pursues bold, money-making ideas at a young age, eventually building a brand while living in her father's house. Read about the night she escaped his house, in 2012 at twenty-one years old.
In Part 2, follow Julia on an unbelievable (true) journey of discovering normal life, finding faith and healing, getting married to the man of her dreams; becoming a parent, best-selling author, and the creator of no less than four successful brands in very competitive industries. Read about her trials, successes, and the reality of building businesses from scratch that last and stand the test of time. Julia's steps to business success are laid out in real, practical details, with every up and down.
The lessons from Julia's entrepreneurial journey, told throughout the book with moments of self-reflection, form a real-life entrepreneurial manual for others wanting to create businesses from scratch that last.
Julia’s nonfiction memoir is one you will not forget. Her story marries these female leadership books, entrepreneurial advice, and true stories of survival.
Learn more about Julia’s nonprofit and the mission behind her womanrisingproject.org.
Some parts of Woman A True Story , especially Julia’s childhood in a cult told in truth and transparency, are dark and disturbing (be warned).
- GenresNonfiction
393 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2020
29 people are currently reading
234 people want to read
About the author
Julia McCoy
17 books27 followersJULIA MCCOY is an author, entrepreneur, mom, and wife. She dropped out of college at nineteen years old and escaped her father's cult at twenty-one to pursue her dreams to write for a living and find healing and life fulfillment. Her content agency, Express Writers, grew from nothing to over $4.3M in revenue in just seven years, and she was named an industry thought leader in content marketing by Forbes in 2018. Today, she's the author of two bestselling books, founder of The Content Hacker, and lives in Austin, Texas, with her daughter, husband, and fur baby.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 11, 2019
I cannot wait to share this book with the world.
December 4, 2019
Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that made you ask, "How can this stuff be happening in the United States in the 21st century?" This book describes vividly a childhood full of abuse. Julia pulls you right into the room where the abuse is happening, and you can see this little girl and her sister surviving the anguish. I wasn't able to put down the book, and I found myself grinning when hope begins to enter Julia's life again. The sad fact is that Julia's book describes the horrors of what many children have experienced in an environment that uses religion to debase, control, and abuse women and children. But Julia's book also proves that love and truth triumph!
March 3, 2020
I was honored to read an advance copy of this book and asked to consider writing the Foreword, which I gladly did as a fellow cult escapee. To Julia McCoy I can only say this: Bravo!
January 13, 2020
Woman Rising is a memoir of Julia’s horizonless, abusive, loveless upbringing where, with hopeful determination and Faith, she rises above it all and breaks free into a successful business and a loving family. In her writing it is clear she is vulnerably sharing her heart in hopes that it will encourage others in dire situations. I recommend this book and the hope it will provide those in dire situations.
January 13, 2020
Such an incredible story. The book is easy to read and draws you into Julia’s story immediately. At some points it is difficult to read, but in a good way. It is difficult to read about the years and years of abuse Julia suffered. But her openness about her tough childhood make her escape and how she turned her life around even more inspiring. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know!
December 14, 2019
An incredible story of courage amidst a very difficult and hopeless situation. This book is a book that is is long overdue. The author describes in depth the atrocities that are
happening in many homes all across the nation and world. It describes the abuses at the hands of
a pastor/father who uses Scripture to back his abusive nature. The author describes relatives who
turn a blind eye to what is really taking place. Julia becomes the voice of those of us who have
experienced similar abuse, and don't always know how to process what has taken place.
Painting a picture with her words in vivid detail, she takes us through the day to day life in a cult,
together with being homeschooled, where there is no joy, no easy way out, and times of absolute
hopelessness. Yet, there dawns a light, and out of all that abuse, arises a powerful woman, who
through the strength of the struggle creates something amidst her captivity, and finds a way of
escape even when there seemed to be no hope.
I believe this book will hopefully bring awareness to the abuses that are happening that are more
prominent than most think and cause the abusers to at least search their hearts for why they are
doing what they are doing, and also bring awareness that we can no longer turn a blind eye to
what is taking place all around us.
happening in many homes all across the nation and world. It describes the abuses at the hands of
a pastor/father who uses Scripture to back his abusive nature. The author describes relatives who
turn a blind eye to what is really taking place. Julia becomes the voice of those of us who have
experienced similar abuse, and don't always know how to process what has taken place.
Painting a picture with her words in vivid detail, she takes us through the day to day life in a cult,
together with being homeschooled, where there is no joy, no easy way out, and times of absolute
hopelessness. Yet, there dawns a light, and out of all that abuse, arises a powerful woman, who
through the strength of the struggle creates something amidst her captivity, and finds a way of
escape even when there seemed to be no hope.
I believe this book will hopefully bring awareness to the abuses that are happening that are more
prominent than most think and cause the abusers to at least search their hearts for why they are
doing what they are doing, and also bring awareness that we can no longer turn a blind eye to
what is taking place all around us.
January 14, 2020
Coming from a background not entirely dissimilar to Julia's, this book struck me as both incredibly brave and vulnerable. In a world where religious abuses are often hidden behind church doors and never revealed or discussed, Julia's book is a stark yet necessary accounting of what can go on behind closed doors when victims are shamed into silence and abusers have no accountability to any outside governance. It's a must read for anyone who has ever found themself powerless to abuse and unsure if their future is worth fighting for and a powerful reminder that abuse survivors can rise from the ashes of a broken childhood to make their future what they want it to be.
October 15, 2023
Hm, this one is a bit difficult to critique, as it is after all a loving woman’s personal story.
I admire that she was able to get out of there and already on the abusive family situation actually build a business on the internet.
At the same time the book itself for me as a reader has quite a lot weaknesses. The writing is okey, but sometimes very lengthy. While I understand that the author is proud of her business achievements I really did not need the details on her business experiences, that was not necessary and boring. Then there are parts which don’t add up. First, after she is out, she is lonely and realizes she has no friends but finds it difficult, but then suddenly she has many friends who came to the hospital after the birth etc. So what happened, how did she overcome this, why does she suddenly have so many friends? Not explained. Also - she fled with her sister, left her in the same town - and then her sister is not once mentioned again. Did they not have any contact anymore? What happened to her? Did she help her get along with life outside the family.
And what about the younger siblings? She tried to go to child services but that didn’t work. And that was it?
Anyhow, difficult and not my place to judge this, but definitely the second part of the book was to long and boring.
What I also never will understand is all these atrocities that are done in the name of religion. These self appointed “voices of god or allah”. And what I definitely also do not understand is how this lady can still be so religious after her experience…. And I am definitely not a fan of books that are then mentioning Jesus in every second page, I really despise missionaries…
So, while it was interesting and also shocking to read and I admire the authors bravery to get out, I don’t like the book itself very much.
I admire that she was able to get out of there and already on the abusive family situation actually build a business on the internet.
At the same time the book itself for me as a reader has quite a lot weaknesses. The writing is okey, but sometimes very lengthy. While I understand that the author is proud of her business achievements I really did not need the details on her business experiences, that was not necessary and boring. Then there are parts which don’t add up. First, after she is out, she is lonely and realizes she has no friends but finds it difficult, but then suddenly she has many friends who came to the hospital after the birth etc. So what happened, how did she overcome this, why does she suddenly have so many friends? Not explained. Also - she fled with her sister, left her in the same town - and then her sister is not once mentioned again. Did they not have any contact anymore? What happened to her? Did she help her get along with life outside the family.
And what about the younger siblings? She tried to go to child services but that didn’t work. And that was it?
Anyhow, difficult and not my place to judge this, but definitely the second part of the book was to long and boring.
What I also never will understand is all these atrocities that are done in the name of religion. These self appointed “voices of god or allah”. And what I definitely also do not understand is how this lady can still be so religious after her experience…. And I am definitely not a fan of books that are then mentioning Jesus in every second page, I really despise missionaries…
So, while it was interesting and also shocking to read and I admire the authors bravery to get out, I don’t like the book itself very much.
March 21, 2020
Didn’t want it to end!!!!!
What a wonderful memoir! So heartbreakingly to read and realize that this kind of abuse happens all around us and we do not even know. My heart hurt for Julia as I read about her every day struggles of physical, emotional, and mental abuse that her parents put her (and her sister) through. I was so glad that she was able to escape and find her saving grace in Josh and Jesus. Their love stories were so moving.... I was in tears many times throughout this book. She is an amazing woman, not only in her faith, but as a mom, and also a “career superwoman”. I highly recommend this memoir to everyone!!! It will stay on my bookshelf along with all the others that are so near and dear to my heart ❤️
What a wonderful memoir! So heartbreakingly to read and realize that this kind of abuse happens all around us and we do not even know. My heart hurt for Julia as I read about her every day struggles of physical, emotional, and mental abuse that her parents put her (and her sister) through. I was so glad that she was able to escape and find her saving grace in Josh and Jesus. Their love stories were so moving.... I was in tears many times throughout this book. She is an amazing woman, not only in her faith, but as a mom, and also a “career superwoman”. I highly recommend this memoir to everyone!!! It will stay on my bookshelf along with all the others that are so near and dear to my heart ❤️
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October 3, 2022Story Resonated With Me
Julia's story resonated with me in a profound way. It was as if she was inside of my head. I didn't grow up in a polygamist home but I did grow up in a Christian home that was very legalistic. As I've heard it said, legalism kills. It kills who you are as a person & who God meant for you to be in Him. I'm grateful for the people in my life who have been there for me & counseled me due to the experiences I went through as a child. I'm most thankful for the relationship I now have with a God of love & grace. I'm almost 50 years old & still learning who God & Christianity are in a real & personal way. Like Julia, I'm realizing what it means to be the daughter of the Most High. Thank you for sharing your story.
Julia's story resonated with me in a profound way. It was as if she was inside of my head. I didn't grow up in a polygamist home but I did grow up in a Christian home that was very legalistic. As I've heard it said, legalism kills. It kills who you are as a person & who God meant for you to be in Him. I'm grateful for the people in my life who have been there for me & counseled me due to the experiences I went through as a child. I'm most thankful for the relationship I now have with a God of love & grace. I'm almost 50 years old & still learning who God & Christianity are in a real & personal way. Like Julia, I'm realizing what it means to be the daughter of the Most High. Thank you for sharing your story.
October 13, 2021
Content warning for significant child/wife/animal abuse. This was so hard and sad at times, but it’s also amazing to see how strong people are, how much joy lies in small things, and mostly how incredible it is when someone who grew up abused and beaten down in the name of God discovers who Jesus really is.
Kind of a mix of genres and that was a little interesting to read—I would have preferred more of how she recovered and found freedom from growing up in a cult and less of business strategy but I get that both are part of her story.
Kind of a mix of genres and that was a little interesting to read—I would have preferred more of how she recovered and found freedom from growing up in a cult and less of business strategy but I get that both are part of her story.
November 14, 2023
There so much to speak on this book to see a woman overcome to much mental destruction , captivity and control while planning her escape from the cult her father led. To then boom while all of that she was blowing up as a writer to then taken care herself leaving her family being a multi business enterprise woman. The true testament of courage, faith and mental toughness she did with such minimal so many can’t who have it all. One of the most powerful reads for me to date I was routing for her through the whole book. Should be a movie.
February 10, 2020
Julia was born to parents who severely abused, controlled, and traumatized her, not just occasionally, but every day of her life. Her tragic turned inspirational story chronicles the early years up through her awakening to the life that could be, her brave journey to freedom, how she found and embraced the real Jesus, and her courageous path from brokenness to healing, confidence, and a life full of joy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2023
Fearless autobiography of Julia's life filled with mountaintops and heartbreaking valleys that will inspire our faith with boundless perseverance. Julia's story will dare you to find the courage to face your greatest fear(s), not to be absent or complacent, and to thrive forward with purpose and meaning no matter how dire the circumstances. Buckle in and read this page-turner while embracing your own journey.
February 28, 2020
Amazing story
Your created a new life after a miserable childhood. Congratulations on your success! You deserve happiness! You should be proud!
Your created a new life after a miserable childhood. Congratulations on your success! You deserve happiness! You should be proud!
September 23, 2021
Awful Story
Didn't enjoy the story. Poorly written. It was hard to follow and some parts were simply unbelievable. I personally wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
Didn't enjoy the story. Poorly written. It was hard to follow and some parts were simply unbelievable. I personally wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews