Review by reneelu1998 -- The Cult Next Door

[ReneeBrown]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Cult Next Door" by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Cult Next Door by Elizabeth R. Burchard and Judith L. Carlone is the haunting story of young, naive, and abused Liz getting sucked into a cultic world by an unassuming and strangely charismatic man. George claims to be a “stress-reduction therapist” and from the moment he meets Liz and her mother Rachael, he knows he can easily take advantage of them. George is creepy, egotistical, and sociopathic. Starting out holding meetings in Rachael and Liz’s house, the strange sessions soon move to George’s home with the arrival of more clients.

The “Group” consists of individuals who seek safety, purpose, and significance. They crave the advice and attention of George, their “guru” and leader. Anything he says, they will do. Each dark and disturbing session consists of George channeling the “Energy”, him screaming at one or all of the Group members, and him convincing all the women to grant him sexual favors in turns.

This book follows Liz in the over 20 years she was part of this Group. The reader is introduced to Liz’s reality and how she slowly begins to question the teachings and practices of the cult. What really impressed me most about this book is how astounding the narrative is. Both Elizabeth and Judith are highly skilled and emotional writers. The whole book goes at a fast pace and the reader grows very close to Liz and wants to help her find her way out of the unfortunate situation she is in. Judith, or Judy, is a friend to Liz and tries to help her start to question the ideologies of the Group. This book is extremely detailed and filled with impressive and masterful descriptions.

One thing that I liked the most about this book was that it started from when Liz was around 17 years old when she first met George, and ends with Liz in her early forties. I loved this because the reader gets to experience a lot of closure and finality with Liz’s story instead of wondering what happened to her after. I think Liz is so brave for writing this book about her experiences.

Because of how powerful and well-written this book is, I would whole-heartedly give it 4 out of 4 stars. This is a book worth reading. I would give a slight warning on the content. There are some descriptions of the sexual favors the women in the Group were forced to give George. Nothing graphic, but creepy and disturbing nonetheless. With regard to the overall content, I would recommend this book to adults. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in stories of people’s lives and things that people have actually went through.

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The Cult Next Door
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[Mai Tran]

Great review! I read this book a while back, but I love hearing about it again through your words. I think you've summed it up nicely.

[Purti10]

Great review! I would love to read this book and know more about the story.

[ReneeBrown]

Great review! I read this book a while back, but I love hearing about it again through your words. I think you've summed it up nicely.

Thank you so much! I appreciate the comment and I'm glad you liked the book!

[ReneeBrown]

Great review! I would love to read this book and know more about the story.

thanks for the comment!

[Meg98]

This sounds very intriguing and I like the premise. Thanks for your compelling review! Cheers:)

[Pearl Hijabi]

I agree with you as I have read this book a few weeks before a very well written book. Thank you for a great review