A Culty Reading List
Why we follow and how we break free #70
In This House, my beloved jokes that I will enthusiastically consume any cult-related media that isn’t nailed down. “An obscure documentary about a death cult? Kerry will love it.” But dammit, it’s kind of true and frankly I am shocked that it’s taken this long to have a cult-themed newsletter but we remedy this today. Welcome and ole!
As evidenced by the proliferation of culty podcasts, mini-docs and memoirs, I’m clearly not the only one who has a fascination with cults, and while I’m sure part of it is a lurid and unflattering fascination with extremism, for me the appeal is not the schadenfreude of “how could these people believe what’s obviously a scam” but actually the opposite. How easily could we all fall into deep, unshakeable faith about something? What if the community we loved was also a deeply destructive community? And how do people find the ways out, and how do they cultivate the hope, courage and optimism that this can happen? In a time of deep polarization and the “untruthing” of the world where facts are outweighed by our own beliefs and interpretations, I find this psychological processing deeply fascinating and hopefully a roadmap for us all getting back to each other, a little more.
That said. People, it must be acknowledged: a lot of these cult books are … truly terrible. Because good memoirs are hard and most people don’t invest in talented ghost writers, I guess! Wade into these waters with caution. So here are a few of the culty books I can recommend (and one I didn’t get). I know some of you (SPENCER and also MOLLY) have recommendations in this genre as well, so please leave them in the comments!
Also note - this week we’re suspending gentle lamb ratings because … they’re books about cults which involve abuse, sexual coercion, and at the least, psychological control. So, you know. But if you need some four and five lambers, head to the archive to check out this “delightful book” post or a few fun mysteries!
Was there any question we were going to include Scientology books? Obviously no.
Longtime readers will know my strong feelings about celebrity memoirs and how much they usually suck, and with Troublemaker Leah Remini added on a degree of difficulty by also layering in her experience in Scientology. What’s great about this is how reflective and honest she is about the experience, how aware she is in her culpability, and how much she boldly, brashly, baldly lays bare what she sees as injustices and abusive behavior. It’s a great read.
But if you really can’t with celebrity memoirs (why? why do you reject joy?) then you’ll definitely want to read Going Clear, which is Lawrence Wright’s excellent non-fiction overview of the history, the inner workings, and the deceptions of Scientology. Very intelligent, very thorough, extremely readable, as balanced as it could be, and as an added bonus, a thought-provoking take on what constitutes a religion.
I learned about Sex Cult Nun from Fresh Air (obviously, as Terry Gross dearly loves to ask any and all guests about their bedroom activities NOT A CRITICISM, TER-TER, I LOVE YOU). It’s a memoir from a woman who grew up in the Children of God /The Family.
What’s most impactful about this book is the ferocious anger that spills out in every paragraph. It almost feels intrusive to read it because her pain and fury are still so evident years after she left the cult, but I think that’s what makes this important. The media-fication of cults can sometimes gloss over that these are real people who will struggle with trust, with functioning, with shame and fear for the rest of their lives.
The internet anointed Seductive Poison as the ne plus ultra of cult memoirs, and while I don’t think it’s the most compelling writing, it’s still a very interesting history of the Jonestown cult from a woman who was a trusted advisor/victim of Jim Jones, with an insider perspective as to how he maintained such control. It’s an unusually close look at the cult leader as well as how someone goes so far in, the measures she took to escape, and her efforts to convince others how dangerous Jonestown really was.
And here’s a quick roundup of excellent culty memoirs from the archive:
Educated - if you somehow haven’t read this yet, you must - a chronicle of a family in Idaho with a controlling, prepper father. (Read more here)
Greetings from Utopia Park - a memoir of growing up in the TM/Maharishi community. Unusually well written.
Unfollow - one of my favorite memoirs no one has read, by a woman who grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church before leaving due, in part, to the influence of kind strangers on Twitter. Really interesting exploration of how people can change their perspectives.
And lastly - OK, y’all - culty topic? With the lens of words and language? And a fun pink cover? Has ever there been crafted more of a Kerry book? And yet I didn’t even finish Cultish. I found it repetitive and also superficial? More opinion than researched argument? I dunno. Maybe I needed to give it more of a try. If anyone loved this, please let me know.
Culty Media Lightning Round
In case you want MORE CULTY MEDIA, allow me as your resident cult media enthusiast to share my opinions on some recent shows and podcasts:
Wild Wild Country (Netflix) - Not perfect but worth watching
Scientology: The Aftermath (Netflix) - Surprisingly powerful (and an Emmy winner). Definite watch
Scientology: Fair Game (podcast) - Only for the real die hards
The Vow (HBO) - watch it
Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (Starz) - interesting for the “bringing to justice” process but otherwise ehn.
A Little Bit Culty (podcast) - no, you can skip it. Nice people but turns out interviewing is a skill!
The Dropout (Hulu) - YES. YES. also, YES. First of all, A dot Seyfried gives an *incredible* performance. Second of all, okay, maybe it’s not an existential cult and maybe I just want to encourage you to watch it, but if you don’t think the story of Theranos at least touches on the hallmarks of cults (high control, operating secrecy, charismatic leader who requires complete loyalty, the demands for unwavering faith in the face of factual evidence to the contrary, and consequences for questioning or leaving) then you particularly need to read everything else on this list.
There’s More? How Long is One Book Newsletter?
No, I know, it’s absurd. But you’re probably not even reading this far.
If you are, quick note that all books link to Bookshop.org, where you can also see all my past recos. Why Bookshop.org? Because they support indie bookstores and booksellers unlike Jeffy B. (Though apparently Barnes & Noble is a good guy now?)