Review by Gyongyver Farkas -- The Cult Next Door
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Gyongyver Farkas
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Review by Gyongyver Farkas -- The Cult Next Door
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Cult Next Door" by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone.]
The difference between true and false religious organizations, sects and cults has been in the center of my attention for many years, for personal reasons. What is the difference between them, and what makes them fake or true, good or bad, or even dangerous and evil is a basic question?
The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir by Elisabeth R. Burchard, LSW and Judith L. Carlone, as an autobiography, a memoir and a case-study of a cult victim, seemed to be a real-life answer to my quest. The group originated from biofeedback-stress reduction therapy, in the office of a Manhattan psychologist. Elisabeth was introduced first in 1977 through her mother, who consulted first with Dr. Keith Rogers, Ph. D. and stress reduction specialist and George Sharkman, his licensed biofeedback technician. Elisabeth first visited George Sharkman to the advice of her mother, to offer relief to her problems of depression and overweight. George Sharkman became the “guru”, the leader of this strange social group after he was expelled and became working independently from his boss.
Elisabeth was entangled in this group composed mostly of young and middle-aged women, and just some men, for a period of almost twenty years. Most of the people were women with education, and the question arises, how these women were kept there in that cult for such a long time.
My analysis of the ideology of this group realized that they cannot be named even as a religious group, their beginnings were as a psychology group. The leader then had some New Age doctrines with the Energy, with head-shaking, Head-shaking was supposed to release energy, which George Sharkman, the guru, claimed would heal and protect what God does for people, As he performed the headshaking, he became the Almighty, he became God himself. Furthermore, he created a dictatorship, he became the omnipotent leader of isolated, disoriented and vulnerable women. George had engaged mostly with women ranging from 18 to their mid-70s. The guru abused people in the group sexually, in more open or hidden form, and sometimes physically.
George Sharkman was a pathological, unhealthy person, who, “like a vampire, … fed off his devotees'energy, requiring their adoration to survive”. He was a megalomaniac and dictatorial. Now, how the group acquired the Black Dog Religion, the book must be read, but I can tell that it was a clear sign of the leader’s sickness and morbid, insalubrious thinking and personality. Furthermore, he was aggrandizing himself, he seemed to view himself as a Messiah figure with powers to make miracles, heal, and resurrect.
The group was kept together due to the fact that these people, mostly women, needed to belong somewhere, and because they were vulnerable, and all of them, at a certain point, consciously or subconsciously, began to compete for the guru‘s attention and favor. Certainly, the guru convinced them, that they would die if they leave. Or that it is no real success outside the group. None of the Groupies had relationships outside the group, and Elisabeth, too, longed for belonging somewhere. She was genuinely in love with a young boy, a Croatian immigrant whom she met at school, and their relationship was a genuine, burgeoning relationship, the so-called first love, but the guru made him be estranged from her, especially talking separately with the boy, and revealing him his false ideas about women. Unfortunately for Elisabeth, this boy lost his life early in a train accident, and Lis’ s life became empty, and that was another reason why she spent such a long time in this abnormal social clique, despite the fact that she was too smart to believe the cult’s doctrines.
Furthermore, these people invested financially in these groups, and we can see that some of them made even financial sacrifices to be able to frequent the clique. Although Sharkman seems to be crazy, he was very shrewd to profit financially from people. We can see that he chose people who were educated. He did not let Lis become independent in her new business, Serena, Sharkman’s daughter entered in Lis’s business to take advantage of her work and profit. When Lis ate up all her inheritance from her father and had to reduce the amount of time spent in the group, that was the time that Sharkman excommunicated her from the clique.
This cultic clique did not appreciate and encourage people to think for themselves, just to take for granted everything the guru told them. When Lis did not really accept the anti-gravitational law of Sharkman that was against she learned at science, Sharkman immediately noticed that and showed his disapproval of her to the group. Lis was a bit different from other members, she followed the ritual, but it could be sensed she did not truly believe. Sharman also discouraged people to see the doctor if they were sick.
Another important weapon in the hand of George Sharkman was the manipulation of the members of the group through fear, for example, George had convinced her she would die if she left the group, or, she couldn’t be blessed outside the group. George Sharkman also had implanted prejudice about outsiders, they were viewed by the group as “dead”.
Most of the book is written in first person singular form, through the eyes of Lis, but in the second part of the book another person appears, Judith, an earth-angel for Lis, they become friends, a real friend to her, and the chapters and events are now written through the two different eyes of the two women as they saw and experienced everything. She helped a lot Lis to come to terms with the reality behind Sharkman’s clique, and she was a real eye-opener to Elisabeth.
I liked very much this autobiographical novel about the brainwashing techniques and manipulations inside a new cultic group. I think the book can be interesting for people who are interested in autobiographical novels, in psychology, in cults, even for those who do research in cults or sects, especially those who are interested in the manipulative techniques and methods of a guru.
The book is professionally edited, I could not find any typos or grammatical mistakes, I rate this autobiography 4 out of 4 stars, for its content and edition. The book is very interesting, readable, and valuable, and I recommend it to all types of readers, I think everybody can find something helpful in connection with the situations encountered in it, even as a warning how easily people can be absorbed in parasitic and detrimental groups.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The difference between true and false religious organizations, sects and cults has been in the center of my attention for many years, for personal reasons. What is the difference between them, and what makes them fake or true, good or bad, or even dangerous and evil is a basic question?
The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir by Elisabeth R. Burchard, LSW and Judith L. Carlone, as an autobiography, a memoir and a case-study of a cult victim, seemed to be a real-life answer to my quest. The group originated from biofeedback-stress reduction therapy, in the office of a Manhattan psychologist. Elisabeth was introduced first in 1977 through her mother, who consulted first with Dr. Keith Rogers, Ph. D. and stress reduction specialist and George Sharkman, his licensed biofeedback technician. Elisabeth first visited George Sharkman to the advice of her mother, to offer relief to her problems of depression and overweight. George Sharkman became the “guru”, the leader of this strange social group after he was expelled and became working independently from his boss.
Elisabeth was entangled in this group composed mostly of young and middle-aged women, and just some men, for a period of almost twenty years. Most of the people were women with education, and the question arises, how these women were kept there in that cult for such a long time.
My analysis of the ideology of this group realized that they cannot be named even as a religious group, their beginnings were as a psychology group. The leader then had some New Age doctrines with the Energy, with head-shaking, Head-shaking was supposed to release energy, which George Sharkman, the guru, claimed would heal and protect what God does for people, As he performed the headshaking, he became the Almighty, he became God himself. Furthermore, he created a dictatorship, he became the omnipotent leader of isolated, disoriented and vulnerable women. George had engaged mostly with women ranging from 18 to their mid-70s. The guru abused people in the group sexually, in more open or hidden form, and sometimes physically.
George Sharkman was a pathological, unhealthy person, who, “like a vampire, … fed off his devotees'energy, requiring their adoration to survive”. He was a megalomaniac and dictatorial. Now, how the group acquired the Black Dog Religion, the book must be read, but I can tell that it was a clear sign of the leader’s sickness and morbid, insalubrious thinking and personality. Furthermore, he was aggrandizing himself, he seemed to view himself as a Messiah figure with powers to make miracles, heal, and resurrect.
The group was kept together due to the fact that these people, mostly women, needed to belong somewhere, and because they were vulnerable, and all of them, at a certain point, consciously or subconsciously, began to compete for the guru‘s attention and favor. Certainly, the guru convinced them, that they would die if they leave. Or that it is no real success outside the group. None of the Groupies had relationships outside the group, and Elisabeth, too, longed for belonging somewhere. She was genuinely in love with a young boy, a Croatian immigrant whom she met at school, and their relationship was a genuine, burgeoning relationship, the so-called first love, but the guru made him be estranged from her, especially talking separately with the boy, and revealing him his false ideas about women. Unfortunately for Elisabeth, this boy lost his life early in a train accident, and Lis’ s life became empty, and that was another reason why she spent such a long time in this abnormal social clique, despite the fact that she was too smart to believe the cult’s doctrines.
Furthermore, these people invested financially in these groups, and we can see that some of them made even financial sacrifices to be able to frequent the clique. Although Sharkman seems to be crazy, he was very shrewd to profit financially from people. We can see that he chose people who were educated. He did not let Lis become independent in her new business, Serena, Sharkman’s daughter entered in Lis’s business to take advantage of her work and profit. When Lis ate up all her inheritance from her father and had to reduce the amount of time spent in the group, that was the time that Sharkman excommunicated her from the clique.
This cultic clique did not appreciate and encourage people to think for themselves, just to take for granted everything the guru told them. When Lis did not really accept the anti-gravitational law of Sharkman that was against she learned at science, Sharkman immediately noticed that and showed his disapproval of her to the group. Lis was a bit different from other members, she followed the ritual, but it could be sensed she did not truly believe. Sharman also discouraged people to see the doctor if they were sick.
Another important weapon in the hand of George Sharkman was the manipulation of the members of the group through fear, for example, George had convinced her she would die if she left the group, or, she couldn’t be blessed outside the group. George Sharkman also had implanted prejudice about outsiders, they were viewed by the group as “dead”.
Most of the book is written in first person singular form, through the eyes of Lis, but in the second part of the book another person appears, Judith, an earth-angel for Lis, they become friends, a real friend to her, and the chapters and events are now written through the two different eyes of the two women as they saw and experienced everything. She helped a lot Lis to come to terms with the reality behind Sharkman’s clique, and she was a real eye-opener to Elisabeth.
I liked very much this autobiographical novel about the brainwashing techniques and manipulations inside a new cultic group. I think the book can be interesting for people who are interested in autobiographical novels, in psychology, in cults, even for those who do research in cults or sects, especially those who are interested in the manipulative techniques and methods of a guru.
The book is professionally edited, I could not find any typos or grammatical mistakes, I rate this autobiography 4 out of 4 stars, for its content and edition. The book is very interesting, readable, and valuable, and I recommend it to all types of readers, I think everybody can find something helpful in connection with the situations encountered in it, even as a warning how easily people can be absorbed in parasitic and detrimental groups.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: life.............connected by jacksel
