When starting out at university, it’s normal to want to meet new friends and establish a community. But for some young Australians, that formative time has led them down the path of a secretive and extreme religious sect that some former members describe as exerting “mind control” and taking over their lives.

Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Aleisha Orr, on the story of Nathan and what he describes as a “doomsday cult” that changed his life.