Review of The Cult Next Door
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Jen Nghishitende
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Review of The Cult Next Door
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Cult Next Door" by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone.]
It took me a while to select this book to review due to the book cover and title, a decision I started regretting as soon as I started reading this book as I was immediately taken into its events and could not put it down. In The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir, Elizabeth R Burchard and Judith Lynn Carlone take readers into a dark world that was once Elizabeth (Liz)'s reality.
This memoir is a recollection of sinister mind games carried out by a menacing, abusive and narcissistic man, George Sharkman, upon many lives, obliterating livelihoods, futures, self-worth and bank accounts along the way. In this memoir, Elizabeth details how after her father's death before her 12th birthday, her mother spiralled into a world of chiropractors and spiritual healers and had the misfortune of coming across George. In her quest for healing, she took her daughter Elizabeth with her, enthralling her into the sinister world of brainwashing and deception carried out by the manipulative George, who not only took their lives and those of people they knew over but also leeched off of them physically, mentally and financially and all other ways possible.
Throughout reading this book, I was in profound disbelief at how someone could take advantage of people's vulnerabilities in such a cruel way, using the mysterious "energy." However, I liked that Elizabeth, although she too became enthralled and controlled, retains some aspects of her sanity and questions some of the tactics here and there. Even though she stayed with them, she did not truly believe in the "energy," something Judith noticed early on. It was a pity reading about how she still went along with it for so long, but given her history of loss and longing for love from her mother and those around her, I was not surprised George could manipulate her the way he did. Judith's observations of the group and her discernment of Liz from the rest also provided more context and understanding of how Liz stayed with George's craziness. Will Liz and the others ever be liberated from George and his "energy"? Grab a copy and find out for yourself.
There is nothing about the book itself that I disliked. Instead, I would describe the aspects of the book's events as saddening and profoundly heart-breaking, primarily because this book is based on real-life events. Although these saddening and profoundly heart-breaking were plenty, the one that grated me the entire time and repeatedly broke my heart throughout my reading experience was how George managed to hurt so many women and some men in such vile ways for so long.
The book is exceptionally edited, as I did not find a single error. It is enthralling and, as such, a page-turner. I could not put it down. I would, on these grounds, therefore, rate it four out of four stars. I would recommend it to everyone who enjoys non-fictional accounts of lived experience.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
It took me a while to select this book to review due to the book cover and title, a decision I started regretting as soon as I started reading this book as I was immediately taken into its events and could not put it down. In The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir, Elizabeth R Burchard and Judith Lynn Carlone take readers into a dark world that was once Elizabeth (Liz)'s reality.
This memoir is a recollection of sinister mind games carried out by a menacing, abusive and narcissistic man, George Sharkman, upon many lives, obliterating livelihoods, futures, self-worth and bank accounts along the way. In this memoir, Elizabeth details how after her father's death before her 12th birthday, her mother spiralled into a world of chiropractors and spiritual healers and had the misfortune of coming across George. In her quest for healing, she took her daughter Elizabeth with her, enthralling her into the sinister world of brainwashing and deception carried out by the manipulative George, who not only took their lives and those of people they knew over but also leeched off of them physically, mentally and financially and all other ways possible.
Throughout reading this book, I was in profound disbelief at how someone could take advantage of people's vulnerabilities in such a cruel way, using the mysterious "energy." However, I liked that Elizabeth, although she too became enthralled and controlled, retains some aspects of her sanity and questions some of the tactics here and there. Even though she stayed with them, she did not truly believe in the "energy," something Judith noticed early on. It was a pity reading about how she still went along with it for so long, but given her history of loss and longing for love from her mother and those around her, I was not surprised George could manipulate her the way he did. Judith's observations of the group and her discernment of Liz from the rest also provided more context and understanding of how Liz stayed with George's craziness. Will Liz and the others ever be liberated from George and his "energy"? Grab a copy and find out for yourself.
There is nothing about the book itself that I disliked. Instead, I would describe the aspects of the book's events as saddening and profoundly heart-breaking, primarily because this book is based on real-life events. Although these saddening and profoundly heart-breaking were plenty, the one that grated me the entire time and repeatedly broke my heart throughout my reading experience was how George managed to hurt so many women and some men in such vile ways for so long.
The book is exceptionally edited, as I did not find a single error. It is enthralling and, as such, a page-turner. I could not put it down. I would, on these grounds, therefore, rate it four out of four stars. I would recommend it to everyone who enjoys non-fictional accounts of lived experience.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer
