Review by Pilapiletla -- The Cult Next Door
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- Latest Review: The Cult Next Door by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone
Review by Pilapiletla -- The Cult Next Door
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Cult Next Door" by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone.]
I have neither read a biography nor heard about cults in my entire 18 years of life. Reading a memoir and learning about cults were new to me. Beginning with naivety, I found myself entangled in Elizabeth's story. Struggling to be freed from a destructive leader's manipulation, Elizabeth R. Burchard shares her twenty years of experience trapped in deceit and ill-treatment. On the other hand, Judith L. Carlone shares how she helped Elizabeth break out of the complex web of manipulation in their book, The Cult Next Door.
George Sharkman, specializing in biofeedback and stress management and an author of the Biofeedback and Beyond book, promulgates the power of a special Energy, which he believes is the only true salvation to mankind. In fact, he used this Energy he's discovered to manipulate the lives of his followers in the 'Group', headshaking between sessions to release auras and the feeling of jolted electricity, believed by George to be caused by the Energy's influence. Although majorly composed of women and two men, the Group cult all had the same common: a weak-willed personality. George, a destructive and narcissistic leader, used his followers' vulnerability and fundamental need for love and security by purporting to fill them along with success.
Having gone through the loss of her father during childhood, Elizabeth only relied on her mother despite the ill-treatment she had always received. Her mother's obsession with therapy sessions influenced and led Elizabeth to meet George at the age of seventeen. Struggling with college and her fiance's death, sessions with George became regular. George took advantage of her loss and vulnerability through sexual abuse and brainwashing her with bizarre doctrines, fooling her into believing that it was an act of breaking barriers to a 'Program' that has tied people to do things according to a norm. Fortunately, Judith came to Elizabeth's life, and bravely helped her untangle the complex web of abuse, manipulation, and deception. She went through slow and painful processes to break out of her dependency on George's sessions. For years, she along with several other victims were deceived by George Sharkman into dependency, despite how ill he treats them.
Personally, I want to thank the author for bravely writing this book and sharing her experiences with the public. I admire her for being able to endure the challenges of adulting, the loss of her loved ones, and for cutting the strings tied to a horrendous leader. Reading Elizabeth's memoirs dispelled my ignorance of the abhorrent actions happening beyond my purview. I realized how the world is diverse with a variety of evil intentions and unworldly crimes, some hiding under a facade of professionalism. It opened my mind to compare the challenges Elizabeth had gone through to mine. Despite the lost years and unachieved childhood dreams, she continued living and made up the years she lost. I hope this book reaches a lot of readers and open new pages of realizations and self-reflection, especially to the people who might be suffering the same challenges Elizabeth went through.
While the book intends to contribute to the literature and knowledge expansion regarding cults, it also helped me in improving my vocabulary. I am perfectly amazed by the author's level of writing and vocabulary. As a reader, you will immediately see through Elizabeth's refined words that she is smart and well-educated. Cult leaders, unfortunately, attack their members through emotions, especially those with intellect for them to make use of. Despite her smartest, she lacked self-esteem, security, and love from her mother. These are all social needs that George took advantage of.
The book was exceptionally well-written and professionally edited. I can tell she was accurately able to express her feelings towards the different phases of her life: childhood, teenage, and adulthood. In her pre-cult life, she expressed her happiness when she was with Joe, planning to build a future ahead with him. During her cult life, she wrote with distaste the occurrence of absurd situations under George's influence and I admire her for her honesty.
This book was an insightful read. I couldn't find anything to dislike about except George Sharkman and his teachings. Therefore, I would gladly rate The Cult Next Door by Elizabeth R. Burchard and Judith L. Carlone a 4 out of 4 stars. It contained a few pages of sexual scenes and the vocabulary was deep, so I would only recommend this book to adult readers with interest in cults and biographies. I would also recommend this to readers who haven't read about or met a cult member yet, as this will open your mind to a lot of realizations.
Although it is insightful, it contains sensitive religious beliefs and disturbing situations that you will find annoying, offensive, and loathsome. Among all his teachings, the one I completely disagree with was the belief that he is God and that we are all God. As a Christian, I found it offensive to claim ourselves as God. Thus, if you decide to read this, be aware of the certain dialogues and situations that you might find yourself excessively disagreeing with.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I have neither read a biography nor heard about cults in my entire 18 years of life. Reading a memoir and learning about cults were new to me. Beginning with naivety, I found myself entangled in Elizabeth's story. Struggling to be freed from a destructive leader's manipulation, Elizabeth R. Burchard shares her twenty years of experience trapped in deceit and ill-treatment. On the other hand, Judith L. Carlone shares how she helped Elizabeth break out of the complex web of manipulation in their book, The Cult Next Door.
George Sharkman, specializing in biofeedback and stress management and an author of the Biofeedback and Beyond book, promulgates the power of a special Energy, which he believes is the only true salvation to mankind. In fact, he used this Energy he's discovered to manipulate the lives of his followers in the 'Group', headshaking between sessions to release auras and the feeling of jolted electricity, believed by George to be caused by the Energy's influence. Although majorly composed of women and two men, the Group cult all had the same common: a weak-willed personality. George, a destructive and narcissistic leader, used his followers' vulnerability and fundamental need for love and security by purporting to fill them along with success.
Having gone through the loss of her father during childhood, Elizabeth only relied on her mother despite the ill-treatment she had always received. Her mother's obsession with therapy sessions influenced and led Elizabeth to meet George at the age of seventeen. Struggling with college and her fiance's death, sessions with George became regular. George took advantage of her loss and vulnerability through sexual abuse and brainwashing her with bizarre doctrines, fooling her into believing that it was an act of breaking barriers to a 'Program' that has tied people to do things according to a norm. Fortunately, Judith came to Elizabeth's life, and bravely helped her untangle the complex web of abuse, manipulation, and deception. She went through slow and painful processes to break out of her dependency on George's sessions. For years, she along with several other victims were deceived by George Sharkman into dependency, despite how ill he treats them.
Personally, I want to thank the author for bravely writing this book and sharing her experiences with the public. I admire her for being able to endure the challenges of adulting, the loss of her loved ones, and for cutting the strings tied to a horrendous leader. Reading Elizabeth's memoirs dispelled my ignorance of the abhorrent actions happening beyond my purview. I realized how the world is diverse with a variety of evil intentions and unworldly crimes, some hiding under a facade of professionalism. It opened my mind to compare the challenges Elizabeth had gone through to mine. Despite the lost years and unachieved childhood dreams, she continued living and made up the years she lost. I hope this book reaches a lot of readers and open new pages of realizations and self-reflection, especially to the people who might be suffering the same challenges Elizabeth went through.
While the book intends to contribute to the literature and knowledge expansion regarding cults, it also helped me in improving my vocabulary. I am perfectly amazed by the author's level of writing and vocabulary. As a reader, you will immediately see through Elizabeth's refined words that she is smart and well-educated. Cult leaders, unfortunately, attack their members through emotions, especially those with intellect for them to make use of. Despite her smartest, she lacked self-esteem, security, and love from her mother. These are all social needs that George took advantage of.
The book was exceptionally well-written and professionally edited. I can tell she was accurately able to express her feelings towards the different phases of her life: childhood, teenage, and adulthood. In her pre-cult life, she expressed her happiness when she was with Joe, planning to build a future ahead with him. During her cult life, she wrote with distaste the occurrence of absurd situations under George's influence and I admire her for her honesty.
This book was an insightful read. I couldn't find anything to dislike about except George Sharkman and his teachings. Therefore, I would gladly rate The Cult Next Door by Elizabeth R. Burchard and Judith L. Carlone a 4 out of 4 stars. It contained a few pages of sexual scenes and the vocabulary was deep, so I would only recommend this book to adult readers with interest in cults and biographies. I would also recommend this to readers who haven't read about or met a cult member yet, as this will open your mind to a lot of realizations.
Although it is insightful, it contains sensitive religious beliefs and disturbing situations that you will find annoying, offensive, and loathsome. Among all his teachings, the one I completely disagree with was the belief that he is God and that we are all God. As a Christian, I found it offensive to claim ourselves as God. Thus, if you decide to read this, be aware of the certain dialogues and situations that you might find yourself excessively disagreeing with.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Mindset is a skill. It can be taught and learned.
