The Son of Seven Mothers

A True Story

By: Benjamin Risha

Narrated by: Tim Getman

As the adopted son of two cult leaders, Benjamin Risha was raised to someday assume a place of leadership in the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation with the Bible, and his parents’ interpretation of it, as his guide. He believed the prophecies of his adoptive mother and father, which included them being the two prophets foretold in the Book of Revelations as preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ, them raising from the dead when they died, and such dire warnings as the ground opening up to swallow non-believers into hell. He was sure that Susan Alamo could raise the dead as promised.

However, when none of it happened, and the foundation slid from bucolic communal lifestyle to insufferable criminality that included absolute obedience to the Alamos, and polygamous marriages with girls as young as eight years old, Benjamin knew he had to escape. If he was caught trying to escape he would be beaten nearly to death, forced to go without food and water for his sins, and he would be shamed in the community. He embarked on a journey to locate his birth parents, discover the truth about a world he knew nothing about...and find himself.

In The Son of Seven Mothers, Benjamin Risha takes listeners on a harrowing journey that few in the United States can imagine. And eventually he must choose between the life he knows, and was “chosen” to lead, and his freedom.

©2021 Benjamin Risha (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Good, but not great. Awesome Narration.

This book was overall entertaining and certainly provided a new and interesting perspective on religious cult life- the viewpoint of a child who experienced the horrors through a lense of relative privilege. Despite that, he still experienced horrors most of us could never even dream of at the hands of very disturbed adults. It’s fortunate that he was blessed with a strong mind to be able to eventually see through the lifelong brainwashing. A good read, but not great because I feel the flow was a little off at times and some of the stories lacked richness of detail which left a lot of questions on the table. I’d say the same for the ending, just felt really abrupt. The book was released in 2021, yet the story ended in the 90’s. Would have been more interesting if there would have been a few more follow up details on Tony, the church, or anyone else from the story, that’s come up in the last 20+ years.

Narration cracked me up, love Tim’s voices. His Tony Alamo voice was hysterical and seriously one of the highlights of the book.

Best story I’ve read in quite a while.

The story is engaging and kept my interest all the way through. I can’t begin to understand how traumatic the experiences these kids had to endure.

Must Read!

I would recommend this book to those who feel alone and lost in this world because the story is filled with innocence in the eyes of a young boy whose determination and will lead him to a better world. He is a hero who is brave and knew instinctively what the differences are between good and evil, not a follower but a leader in his own wisdom. It filled me with a lot of emotions and I enjoyed discovering myself in the midst of understanding Ben.

The POV is a Child

Phenomenal story and very well written. I had never heard of this cult and was horrified by what the abuses of these insane cult leaders were willing to go to. This is a heartbreaking coming of age story and a young man who wanted a better life. A different life. A life he didn't know existed. But he took a leap of faith and found...(sorry, no spoilers).

Interesting topic, moderate quality

Memoir of someone with an interesting childhood for sure. But the writing and narration are just ok. Narrator has exactly same inflection for every sentence of the book and often uses childlike voice for what a teenager is saying.so sometimes it’s hard to follow the age of the protagonist. The author has a very basic overview of his life rather than a true introspective one which I guess says more about the author. Interesting story, probably would be more interesting as a movie

Not a fan

Very difficult story to listen to. The narration was good. The story itself needed a lot of work. I get the concept of lumping events together to keep the book moving, but this was ridiculous.