Behind the Exclusive Brethren is the story of a religious group that goes to extraordinary lengths to remain ‘apart from the world’ but whose very ‘unworldliness’ is maintained by very worldly means. Journalist Michael Bachelard’s readable and balanced account of the Exclusive Brethren in Australia is informed by a broad understanding of the church in its international context.

In the course of writing his book, Bachelard interviewed and corresponded with a large number of past and present Brethren, ultimately presenting a picture of a religious hierarchy more obsessed with power and process than with what is beneficial for its ‘flock’. The author provides many heartbreaking accounts of families being torn apart because of the doctrine of separation: Brethren members are strongly urged to avoid contact with those who leave or are removed by order of sect leaders. For all the solemn certainties of Brethren life, it seems that God sometimes changes his mind. In more recent times, dissenting Brethren are less likely to be ‘withdrawn from’ than in the past, but for many victims of this somewhat arbitrary doctrine the pain and trauma of the experience remain visceral.