David Tchappat - Breakout: How I Escaped from the Exclusive Brethren

This book is dedicated to my late grandparents Ted and
Eunice Tchappat. I never was able to say goodbye
but you will remain forever in my heart.

This is also dedicated to all Exclusive Brethren members who dared to dream about life in the outside world and never left, and those who left and still bear the physical and psychological scars. God bless you all and may you find peace in your quest to assimilate successfully within society.

T here is no shortage of people I wish to thank as I have negotiated my way through this amazing life journey. It would be impossible to mention them all but some people deserve special thanks as I could not have made it this far without their love and support.

I want to thank my immediate family for creating a loving and comfortable upbringing which has equipped me with the moral compass that I posess today. I may have missed out on a great deal growing up but one thing I do know is that from birth until this current day my family have never stopped loving me as their son and brother and my love for them will never die.

I will never forget the efforts of my good friend Michael Truswell. If it were not for his generous offer of a place to stay I probably never would have taken the plunge by breaking out into the big wide world. Your ability to take a very nave person under your wing and teach them some necessary street smarts will never be forgotten.

I nominate Darren Hill as one of the most significant people to enter my life. Before our chance meeting I was very close to throwing in the towel and conceding defeat, heading home to a place where I could not experience happiness. Your generosity and ability to treat me like a brother provided me with a link to the outside world and your loyalty and friendship will always be valued.

I cannot thank my cousin Andrew Tchappat enough. It was a pleasure to be there for you when you finally broke out of the Brethren two years after I left. At times you are the only person who understands me and you have always been there for me through good times and bad.

My best friend Joshua Simpson also deserves special mention. You and your family have always been there for me since we met at the police academy and you are like a brother to me. It was a pleasure to be named godfather of your daughter.

I want to thank my good friends Glen Scott and Becky Davis who begged and urged me to write this book. Your friendship and support has been untold over the years and you both inspired me to sit down and write about my incredible journey.

It would be irresponsible of me not to make mention of my ex-wife Belinda and my former good friend Jason. Although we all parted after an unsavoury turn of events, your love, support and friendship over the years will never be forgotten. Sometimes life forces us to move in different directions but you both were a massive part of my life and helped contribute to the person that I am today. I sincerely wish you both all the prosperity and happiness for the future.

I wish to also thank my former wifes family Brian, Carol, Michael and Rodney and Carols late mother Doreen who sadly passed away in 2003. You all played such an integral part in my development as a person and in my life journey. You always made me feel part of your family and were there for me in some of my hardest moments. Carol, I will always love you as a mother and will never forget your love, generosity and words of wisdom.

A special thanks goes to the former Brethren member and author of the chapter in this book entitled A Short History of the Exclusive Brethren. I was never qualified to write this chapter and without your assistance this book would have lain incomplete. Reading your words for the first time gave me great insight into how this sect evolved and addressed many unanswered questions. It is a shame that your identity has to remain a secret.

My sincerest love and heartfelt thanks go to my girlfriend Rachel Wilson. You are my rock. You changed my life in every positive way possible and gave me faith to believe in myself. You have supported me in everything that I have tried my hand at and you gave me the strength to follow my dreams. For someone who has only been in my life for a relatively short time the chapter I dedicated to you gave me the most pleasure in writing. God bless you and if you could be bottled I would be a millionaire.

Finally, I would like to thank Fiona, Joanna and the team at New Holland Publishers for having faith in my story and offering to publish this manuscript. You made this dream come true and it was not until I met with you guys that I realised what a feat it is to even have a book published. Thank you and I hope your investment reaps dividends.

To finish I would like to thank every person who I have come into contact with who encouraged and urged me not to give up on my dreams of living a happy and successful life in the outside world. You all know who you are and every single one of you is responsible in some way for this story.

I t was a two-minute conversation on a mundane morning in January, 1994, but I remember it as clearly as yesterday. I was standing on my parents manicured front lawn making small talk with a fellow member of the Brethren. We had just finished bacon and eggs and had gone outside to digest breakfast and enjoy the morning sun before it began to bite. I cant tell you the name of the guy I was talking to. All I remember was that he was about my age and had come from Brisbane. But what he told me changed my life forever.

He was part of a busload of Brethren that had stopped in Gosford that morning en route to a worldwide fellowship meeting in Sydney. We had met the bus at 7am and some of the party was assigned to our house for breakfast. He and I started out going over the normal rubbish Brethren kids talked about but I had another agenda.

So, you know Steve Taylor, do you? I asked.

Yeah, he said. You mates with him?

Nah, not really, but I heard he was keen on Debbie Truswell from Maitland.

Keen? he said. They are going out, have been for months. I bumped into her recently at some fellowship meeting and she got me to tell Steve she loved him. He wants me to return the message.

I can let her know, I shot back, trying not to sound too eager. My sister is a good mate of hers.

He replied but I didnt even hear him. My mind was racing and my stomach was in a thousand knots. I had just agreed to pass on a message of love to my girlfriend from another guy.

Deborah Jane Truswell was hot. She was five feet eleven inches with long, straight blonde hair that cascaded down the back of a near perfect body. If she had been born into the real world, she would have been a model. Even though I had shared no physical contact with Debbie, she was the first girl I had ever loved and, if the hierarchy allowed it, I planned to marry her one day. She was why I had come back to the Brethren after being ex-communicated two years earlier and she was the only reason I was still there now trying to be a good Christian boy.

Later that day, as I punched out figures at my fathers accountancy business, my anger grew. I wanted to scream and punch walls but I still wasnt sure and needed to find out for myself if this girl had been playing me. That night I attended the fellowship meeting in Sydney with Dad, my sister Roslyn and about three thousand Brethren. You usually got to attend two a year if you lived in New South Wales, but they were strictly by invitation only. The best thing about them for me was catching up with all the Brethren guys Australia-wide.