Review by DC Brown -- The Cult Next Door
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Review by DC Brown -- The Cult Next Door
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Cult Next Door" by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone.]
4 out of 4 stars
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The Cult Next Door, A Manhattan Memoir by Elizabeth R. Burchard, LSW and Judith L. Carlone shows how amazingly easy it is for a predator to find prey. I think about a rabbit with his foot caught in an iron-jawed trap. The trap is secured in the ground; it is not going to give way. Did the rabbit want to step into that trap? No. All the rabbit was looking for was food. He needed to sustain his life. He saw the carrot. He stepped in. How could he get out of such a trap? It's impossible without help. Liz finds herself in that situation.
We read of Liz's life before the trap, a sad childhood surrounded by unstable people. It details how her mother flitted from one idea to the next until she found George. Her mother was hooked, and soon Liz was cornered in the same trap. Others eventually joined the group. Unfortunately, they did not see it for what it was.
George was charismatic. It was easy for us to see how he enticed people with his grandiose promises. From the descriptions given it seems as if he was able to hypnotize or at least induce a hypnotic state in the group. He took advantage of his power over them in every way imaginable, evidently until the day he died.
The Cult Next Door was an enlightening book. I have always thought of cults in large groups, with leaders like Jim Jones, who maneuvered over 900 people to their death. Or the news-makers, like Charles Manson and his family who killed others. This book shows that anyone can come under the spell of a predator. It doesn't have to be a violent one. And that is a sad reality. These were educated but unhappy people who got snared. Even when someone tried to help them out of the trap, they refused.
The Cult Next Door is an exceptionally well written and educational book. It's not a book written in a dry, clinical style, it is written as one person's experience, and that made it enjoyable reading. I appreciated that the characters were not judgmental, just truthful about the events. My opinion is that this book would have a broad appeal as a story of one woman's life. It has study notes at the end, and I can see how it would be a good book for schools and book club debates. It's not just for those interested in psychology or the psychology of cults, but also those who are trying to understand how some humans treat others, how some get trapped and how some don't.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is well written and edited. The flow of events is well paced, and the authors have done an excellent job of giving depth to their characters. Perhaps this will become a movie or at least a documentary. I could see that!
******
The Cult Next Door
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4 out of 4 stars
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The Cult Next Door, A Manhattan Memoir by Elizabeth R. Burchard, LSW and Judith L. Carlone shows how amazingly easy it is for a predator to find prey. I think about a rabbit with his foot caught in an iron-jawed trap. The trap is secured in the ground; it is not going to give way. Did the rabbit want to step into that trap? No. All the rabbit was looking for was food. He needed to sustain his life. He saw the carrot. He stepped in. How could he get out of such a trap? It's impossible without help. Liz finds herself in that situation.
We read of Liz's life before the trap, a sad childhood surrounded by unstable people. It details how her mother flitted from one idea to the next until she found George. Her mother was hooked, and soon Liz was cornered in the same trap. Others eventually joined the group. Unfortunately, they did not see it for what it was.
George was charismatic. It was easy for us to see how he enticed people with his grandiose promises. From the descriptions given it seems as if he was able to hypnotize or at least induce a hypnotic state in the group. He took advantage of his power over them in every way imaginable, evidently until the day he died.
The Cult Next Door was an enlightening book. I have always thought of cults in large groups, with leaders like Jim Jones, who maneuvered over 900 people to their death. Or the news-makers, like Charles Manson and his family who killed others. This book shows that anyone can come under the spell of a predator. It doesn't have to be a violent one. And that is a sad reality. These were educated but unhappy people who got snared. Even when someone tried to help them out of the trap, they refused.
The Cult Next Door is an exceptionally well written and educational book. It's not a book written in a dry, clinical style, it is written as one person's experience, and that made it enjoyable reading. I appreciated that the characters were not judgmental, just truthful about the events. My opinion is that this book would have a broad appeal as a story of one woman's life. It has study notes at the end, and I can see how it would be a good book for schools and book club debates. It's not just for those interested in psychology or the psychology of cults, but also those who are trying to understand how some humans treat others, how some get trapped and how some don't.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is well written and edited. The flow of events is well paced, and the authors have done an excellent job of giving depth to their characters. Perhaps this will become a movie or at least a documentary. I could see that!
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like DC Brown's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: The Byrds of Victory by James Robert Campbell
