Growing up, marrying in and ultimately abandoning an Australian cult, the Geelong Revival Centre.
Then learning how to make friends, live and love.

We all grew up under constant instruction- from the pulpit, from our parents, from each other. The Ten Commandments. Obedience. Submission. Purity. Fear God. Honour your leaders. Hell for the wicked. There was no space for questions because we already had the answers. If something felt unclear, that was our spiritual flaw.
Pray harder.
In a sleepy Canberra suburb, Bek Condello, was raised in the Geelong Revival Centre, a strict patriarchal Pentecostal movement then led by the now deceased Pastor Noel Hollins. The influence of the GRC extended deeply into the lives of the congregation, promoting discipline, dictating what girls and women wore, limiting access to the medical profession, who they socialised with and ultimately, who they would marry.

After crossing the country to marry her approved husband and enduring a tumultuous marriage, Bek Condello made the courageous decision to start her life again. Anyone who leaves the GRC is cut off, from family, identity, history.

Can You Handle A Girl Like Me? chronicles Bek's journey through both challenging and transformative experiences. She bravely shares her experiences of finding friends and going on her first real dates in her thirties. With no experience of equal human relationships, Bek is rebuffed and exploited. Through embracing healing and self-empowerment, she is now embarking on a second life of adventure and joy.