re: People who come from a bad childhood situation to be successful in life.

Church of the Redeemer

LINK

it wasn't the news story like Waco or Jonestown the excesses of the Cult was insidious and subtle .

There was a lot of white guilt in effect, the book talks about the rapes what it doesn't mention is how the bad neighborhood affected the children of the church in that they too were often sacrificed. Their safety their well being was offered up some sort of grand statement of God's mercy from White father.
There was a practice of communal living, like a hippie retreat except it was in the middle of the city so drug addicts, abused women, abandoned children homeless people were moved into the home of a "regular family" and the family dynamic was very disrupted.
I would describe my childhood as the rich kids raised by abusive nannies except I didn't have the benefit of money. My sister and I were assigned to a household manager for our daily care or sent away to live with other families while our room might be needed in an emergency ( no guarantee on the safety of our new home, because it was what God demanded to show his love)

There were high expectations of success and severe discipline when there was a failure because quite frankly my parents couldn't take the time from all their other responsibilities of ministry to be parents.
so what parenting I received was always in an emergency and decisive or from a stranger who treated it like a chore.