Review by sursangeet_2000 -- The Cult Next Door

[Sangeetha+Narayan]

[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, LSW and Judith L. Carlone is quite an eye-opener of a book for anyone. The book revolves around the gradual hypnotic effect that George Sharkman, a so-called new age spiritual guru, has on the life of Elizabeth Burchard. Elizabeth meets him at a biofeedback clinic and he gradually pulls her away from the practice and into his own personal life.

George seems to have all the answers to Elizabeth's lonely lifestyle. Elizabeth has spent most of her childhood longing for love from her self-centered mother. When her mother introduces her to George, they finally begin to share a common bond ... their blind faith in what turns out to be the biggest mistake of their life. Twenty years pass by before Judith makes an entry into Elizabeth's life and makes her aware of the fake lives that they were all leading.

I was absolutely fascinated that it could be so easy to fall into someone's trap. Every person who fell prey to George's lies was an educated and a working woman or man. It was amazing to see how a person could hypnotize them to such an extent that they were not even aware of the change and with simple conversations that even made sense to me. What I really liked was that the author also took complete responsibility as she acknowledges that she gave up all her exciting dreams of a bright future, just to get that one glance of approval from George.

My favorite part of the story was when Judith makes an entry in Elizabeth's life and also in the book. The total contrast of the thought process between the co-authors has been portrayed in a very skillful manner. Finally, Elizabeth begins to see the difference between what George preaches and how he really behaves. She begins to wonder how she had not seen the inconsistencies that were glaringly obvious to everyone else. At one point in the book, she concludes, "You don't know what you don't know!"

There was absolutely nothing that I disliked about the book. Though there were parts that seemed like they were being repeated, it was most likely because those events were indeed being done over and over again. It made sense that George would have to keep repeating the same things, especially if he wanted to continue his hold over such a diverse group.

I also could not find any major grammatical or spelling errors, which makes me conclude that this book was professionally edited. I would, therefore, be more than happy to give this book a four out of four stars. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading personal memoirs. If you want to be made aware of how easy it is for a person to fool someone else, this will definitely be the right book for you. Just because someone is saying all the right things doesn't mean that they have their heart in the right place. This world is filled with all sorts of people and it is in our hands to choose the right person and right thoughts.

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The Cult Next Door
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[Leen282]

I finished this book last week. I also gave it 4 stars, it's as you say a real eye-opener. Nice review!

[MeganDJ]

Wow, that is incredible, especially because you don't realize that your beliefs and values are being manipulated at all. I would love to pick this one up, just to glance under the hood at the hearts and minds of cult leaders and cultists alike. Thank you for a very informative review! Happy reading!