Her Dad Worked with James Dobson: Emily Clede's Cult Survivor Story

Emily Clede (she/her) is an Emmy-winning, VMA-nominated producer, but before any of that, she was a homeschooled kid on an isolated Kansas farm. Her father worked with James Dobson and Focus on the Family, making anti-gay documentary content that used Emily and her siblings as unwitting participants from the time she was three years old.In this episode, Emily opens up about growing up without the freedom to choose her own clothes, cut her own hair, or express herself creatively, and how she secretly kept drawing and storytelling alive under her bedsheets with a flashlight. She talks about being treated like royalty in church spaces because of her grandfather's status, while having no autonomy behind closed doors. She shares what it took to finally leave, the years of surveillance and stalking that followed her out, and how she rebuilt a life on her own terms.What We Cover:Her father's connection to James Dobson and Focus on the FamilyLife on an isolated Kansas farm turned "pastors' retreat center"Being used as a camera crew at Pride parades (in an anti-gay way) as a young childMeeting Fred Phelps (Westboro Baptist Church) and other prominent evangelical figures growing upThe moment that changed everything: a trip to Old Navy at 16Years of surveillance, stalking, and boundary-setting after leavingBeing the family scapegoat and the cost of staying vs. leavingBuilding a chosen familySubscribe for new episodes every weekFollow us on Instagram @proudlyonrecord for the latest news