Review by ciecheesemeister -- The Cult Next Door

[ciecheesemeister]

[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 is the harrowing autobiographical account of Elizabeth Burchard’s indoctrination into and life within a cult between the ages of eighteen and thirty-eight. This book reveals that cults do not only exist in off-the-grid compounds where members dress strangely and are not allowed to leave the property without permission from their leader. Members of a cult can appear to be an average person living a normal life. Their existence, however, is very controlled by the doctrines established by cult leaders.

George Sharkman was the author of a book entitled Biofeedback and Beyond and the host of a radio show called Brain Talk. The methods he espoused bear very little resemblance to medically accepted biofeedback techniques, which involve teaching a patient to control his or her breathing in order to calm the mind and thereby receive both physical and psychological benefits. Biofeedback is often found as an option in sports medicine clinics. It can be helpful in resolving issues with pain and anxiety among other applications. This is not what George Sharkman did.

Elizabeth was indoctrinated into Sharkman’s cult when her mother Rachael, who had a history of buying into expensive vitamin therapy and nutrition programs, made an appointment for mother and daughter to see Dr. Keith Rogers, who billed himself as a “stress reduction specialist.” George Sharkman was Dr. Rogers’ biofeedback technician. Sharkman quickly began postulating his ideas about energy and personal achievement to the women, and Rachael began paying for regular treatments.

Not long after the death of Elizabeth’s fiancé, Joe, in 1978, Sharkman began molesting her. He behaved in a manner that indicated that he cared for her and found her special, a pattern she would see him enacting with other women during her years under his influence.

Although Sharkman was often both verbally and physically abusive, the individuals who had fallen under his spell felt as if they would be lost without him. Even as his behavior became more and more bizarre, they continued to convince themselves that his presence in their lives was necessary. The Cult Next Door encourages readers to postulate why these individuals fell under the spell of a deranged, abusive megalomaniac such as Sharkman. Most of the people involved in the cult were college-educated and came from middle-class families.

I give The Cult Next Door four out of four stars. It was well-written and professionally edited. I appreciated Elizabeth Burchard’s honesty about her heinous experiences while indoctrinated into the bizarre and abusive lifestyle espoused by George Sharkman. I like the fact that the book refutes the idea that people who become indoctrinated into cults have low intelligence. What people who are indoctrinated into cults invariably have is low self-esteem.

The thing I liked least about the book was the touting of Christian beliefs as wholly positive and “in direct opposition to New Age, Group doctrine.”* Not all material which could be labeled “New Age” is harmful or cultish, and Christianity has its own set of problematic ideas and behaviors. Granted, mainstream Christian churches are not cults. However, organized religion is more than culpable in spreading toxic ideas and messages about those who do not adhere to their beliefs.

This book is an excellent choice for readers who enjoy biographies, nonfiction, and true crime. However, I would advise readers who might be upset over descriptions of abuse, including physical and sexual abuse, to approach with caution. Although there are no graphic details of said abuse, the account thereof is unsettling.

*Burchard, Elizabeth R. The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir. Two Poles Press, LLC. Kindle Edition.

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The Cult Next Door
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[Sanju Lali]

I have read this book, and also found your review quite insightful from the other perspectives as well. The book clearly depicts helplessness of the followers when they are totally brainwashed.