Finding Baby Holly: Lost to a Cult, Surviving My Parents’ Murders, and Saved by Prayer was written by Holly Marie (AKA Baby Holly) with help from Cindy and David Lambert. This book was published last month, and I just finished reading it. Despite giving it 4.5 stars, I have included it on my “well-worth reading” list.
Intro to the Story
First of all, this is a true story. I thought that Holly Marie’s story would be interesting to read. A group, possibly members of a cult, shows up on a church doorstep, seeking a home for a baby. One cult member, supposedly the baby’s mother, signs over her parental rights. Then the preacher and his wife adopt the baby. Only years later, is it discovered that this baby’s biological parents were murdered around the time that Holly was dropped off at the church.
Initial Thoughts
While I thought the story would interesting, I had my doubts about the quality of the actual writing. I’ve read other people’s stories about their personal experiences with events that captured national (or at least location) news attention. I’ve found this type of book often falls into one of two categories. Some of them feel like a really rough draft of what could be a good story with some decent editing. Others feel like the person wrote down their story for posterity’s sake, and then they decided to publish it for a wider readership.
Fortunately, this is not one of those stories. That’s not to say that this book is perfect. There were a few places where I felt like the author wasn’t giving us all the information that we really wanted/needed, and there were a few confusing parts of the story.
Reader Warnings
This book does deal with a few sensitive topics. This includes cults, murder, drug abuse, divorce, underage marriage, sketchy adoption practices, and religious manipulation. Fortunately, I don’t remember any swear words in the book, but there might have been one or two. When it came to violence, while you know that Holly’s parents were murdered and she talks a little about how they were murdered, the book is actually surprisingly devoid of any graphic violent content. There’s no sexual content other than a brief mention of a manipulative religious leader getting into trouble for sexual crimes.
I did feel like there were a few places where information was missing. I assume this is because Holly doesn’t know the information or because of the ongoing investigation, she is prevented from sharing it.
If you are not a religious person, this might not be an enjoyable book. Holly talks a lot about how she believes that God orchestrated specific things in her life. She discusses how things could have turned out a lot differently without God’s help. She especially emphasizes this toward the end of the book. Prayer is also an important part of her story. Her adoptive father was a preacher, and she mentions that as well.
Other Things You May Want to Know
If you want all the major questions answered, you will be disappointed. As I mentioned earlier, some questions aren’t answered in the book. The big one is that at the end of the book, we still don’t know who murdered Holly’s parents, Tina and Dean Clouse. Holly doesn’t even know. We also don’t know how involved Tina and Dean were in the cult. Were they trying to leave the cult? Were they ever in the cult, or did they just have connections with some of the members? Did they willingly give up Holly? Because this is a true story, Holly doesn’t try to pretend that she has all the answers.
My Recommendation
I feel like this is a story worth reading. In a sense, I feel like it might have been better for Holly to have waited a few more years before writing the story. I feel like this would have allowed some of the missing pieces to have been clearer. Perhaps, though, writing this story now allowed it to be fresh in her mind, and it allowed her story to be out there where those who have some of the missing pieces might be able to fill in the holes a little better. I am definitely interested in learning how this story plays out over the next few years.
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