Upamanyu Biswas
Living through physical and sexual abuse can be one of the toughest challenges faced by children around the world, especially when meted out by trusted family members. As explored in the sixth episode of ‘How I Escaped My Cult,’ titled ‘The Pilgrims,’ Elishaba Doerksen was the eldest daughter in a family of fifteen children, who was subjected to horrifying abuse by her fervently religious father, Papa Pilgrim. The episode uncovers the disturbing reality of Elishaba’s day-to-day struggles in the Pilgrims household and the inhumane manner in which her father transformed the family into a cult devoted to him. From beatings to psychological abuse, the Pilgrims underwent harrowing times under their father’s thumb, with Elishaba catching much of the flak.
Elishaba Doerksen Was Subjected to Harsh and Inhuman Treatment By Her Father
Elishaba Doerksen was born as Butterfly Sunstar to two former hippies, Papa Pilgrim, formerly Bobby Hale, and Rose Bessler, around 1976. She was raised in New Mexico as part of a hippie community. Although her early life was tender and sweet, things changed in the 1980s when Bobby allegedly received a vision from God asking him to channel his teachings as a religious conduit. He renounced his hippie lifestyle and became a devout Christian, rebranding himself as Papa Pilgrim. He also changed Butterfly’s name to Elishaba. Subsequently, he started teaching his children to be subservient to him and only call him Papa. The family also became largely reclusive, pulling away from other people and engaging in Papa’s various teachings. He even urged his family to live in squalid conditions akin to amenities a hundred years ago.
In 1989, Papa alleged that he had received a vision from God to conceive 21 children. However, as he reported a declining sexual desire for his wife, he wanted Elishaba to help him get aroused. According to ‘How I Escaped My Cult,’ the young girl spent the next 12 years trying to evade her father’s many sexual advances until the family moved to McCarthy, Alaska, in 2002. There, the torment grew even worse as Papa began dishing out regular beatings. In 2003, when Elishaba was 27, her father demanded that she bear his kids as a replacement for her mother. The physical and mental torment on the family and her kept growing worse. In 2005, when Elishaba was subjected to horrifying beatings and raped by her father for a disagreement, she gathered her courage and ran away from the house with her sister.
The escape attempt nearly went awry when the snowmobile stopped working. Subsequently, she and her sister had to survive in the wilderness for five days in freezing temperatures while their father routinely checked the region for any sign of them. Fortunately, they managed to keep their anonymity, and help arrived not long after in the shape of their brothers, who had already left the family following disagreements with their father’s methods. After a brief period of recovery, she reported her experiences to the police, which began a manhunt for Papa. The family were rescued from Hillbilly Heaven, the plot of land where they lived, while Papa was captured by the authorities and sent to prison in September 2007. He passed away only a few months into his sentence.
Elishaba Doerksen Lives With Her Two Children Today
After escaping the clutches of her abusive father, Elishaba found refuge with a Christian family known as the Buckinghams. They were already providing lodgings to her brothers after they moved out of Hillbilly Heaven. The Buckinghams helped nurse her back to health after a lifetime of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. She found them to be incredibly gracious, kind, and forgiving. They supported her healing journey, which took many years to overcome. As time passed, Elishaba started collecting her memories of her ordeal and found it difficult to reconcile her conflicted feelings towards her father. She maintained a low profile in the media for several years in order to allow her the grace to sort through the traumatic incidents in her past.
Eventually, she got her chance to rebuild her life after she met her husband, Matthew. Initially, Elishaba was hesitant about him, sharing her doubts with her brothers. However, she soon realized that he was different from other men in her life, specifically her father. She stated on a social media post that Matthew “shows me respect, true love, he cheerishes me, supports my heart, listens and the list goes on.” The couple got married around 2007 and have been together since. They have two children, Esther and Michael, who have been shining beacons in her life. They are residents of Palmer, Alaska, where Elishaba is still in close proximity to her old stomping grounds. In her interview with ‘How I Escaped My Cult,’ she stated that the nearness serves as a reminder of how far she has come as a person.
In 2022, Elishaba compiled her experiences as an abuse survivor into the book ‘Out of the Wilderness: Escaping My Father’s Prison and My Journey to Forgiveness,’ which she co-authored with Mike Dorkey. There, she goes into the details of her harrowing ordeal while also providing inspiration to others like her who have experienced similar plights. She has since appeared in numerous media coverages of her case, including several interviews with news outlets. She is also active through her social media accounts, regularly sharing posts about her family, who are her anchors. In March 2024, she shared the news that she was suffering from an alleged malignant tumor. She is currently undergoing treatment and provides regular updates on her battle with the disease. We at The Cinemaholic pray for her swift recovery and return to a clean bill of health.
Read More: Habiybah Washington: Where is the Dwight York’s Cult Survivor Now?
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