What a Pet Parrot Taught a Woman About ‘Love, Compassion and Patience’ After Leaving a ‘Cult’ as a Teen
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Jen Taylor-O’Connor grew up in what she calls a “garden variety Christian” home, though things changed when her family enrolled her in the Institute in Basic Life Principles, led by disgraced minister Bill Gothard, as a teen.
And now, decades after breaking free from IBLP — which Taylor-O’Connor, 45, refers to as a “cult” — she’s opening up about how her pet parrots helped her heal in the documentary Parrot Kindergarten.
Director Amy Herdy, whose previous work includes producing The Hunting Ground, executive producing Britney v Spears and co-creating Allen v Farrow, first came to learn about Taylor-O’Connor’s story through a “random email” in her inbox. At first, her manager thought it would be a great story for Herdy, who tends to lean toward “dark topics.”
“When I dove into it, I realized, well, this isn’t a story about a woman having been in a cult. That’s a piece of it, but it’s a small piece of it,” Herdy tells PEOPLE. “This is a story about her connection with her parrot and the tremendous journey they went on, and her attempts to prove that her parrot was capable of intentional communication.”
The film looks at Taylor-O’Connor’s ongoing research on animal communication and the establishment of her Parrot Kindergarten program, which helps teach other bird parents what she’s learned. She recalls first being drawn to birds as a way to help combat feelings of loneliness and navigate the trauma she’d experienced as a child.
During her time in the IBLP training centers, Taylor-O’Connor says she was taught that “speaking can get you into trouble.” Fellow former members Jill (Duggar) Dillard, Derick Dillard and Amy (Duggar) King have also spoken out about their experience with the group.
“It made me very quiet and made me extremely introverted,” Taylor-O’Connor recalls to PEOPLE.
Though she’d had other birds before, when Taylor-O’Connor brought home her parrot Ellie, who is at the center of the documentary, she noticed that the bird was exhibiting anger and frustration — something Taylor-O’Connor believes stemmed from the trauma of being adopted and adjusting to a new environment. She found herself relating to Ellie and wondering how to help.
Read more https://people.com/parrot-institute-in-basic-life-principles-religious-group-documentary-exclusive-11844538
Content retrieved from: https://people.com/parrot-institute-in-basic-life-principles-religious-group-documentary-exclusive-11844538.
