Circa 1973, Stevens was born in upstate New York as part of the Children of God,[1] her parents having joined the cult in 1969 and 1970, respectively.
[1][3] Instead of attending school, much of her childhood was spent on city streets, as she was forced to beg by cult leaders, or care for the commune and the people living there.
Before reaching the age of 14, she lived in communes in Mexico, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Japan, and South Korea.
[4] At age 15, Stevens began writing stories, which group leaders punished her for, separating her from her peers and calling her "a witch and full of devils.
"[3] Following the death of cult leader David Berg in 1994, Stevens and her husband, who was also a member of Children of God, moved to a commune in Kenya, then set out on a successful mission in Equatorial Guinea.