Review of The Cult Next Door
-
Deborah Dodd
- Posts: 86
- Joined: 13 Sep 2021, 12:19
- Favorite Book: Killing Time
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 57
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-deborah-dodd.html
- Latest Review: Shanghai'd by Curtis Stephen Burdick
Review of The Cult Next Door
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Cult Next Door" by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone.]
How many of us can say truthfully that our childhood was perfect? Most of us have had difficulty in our lifetimes. Have you had a tragedy happen as a child? As a young adult, have you been looking for love and comfort? Feel you need answers to your beliefs? If yes to any of these questions, I recommend reading The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir by Elizabeth R. Burchard and Judith L. Carlone. Elizabeth explains how, as a young adult, she got caught up with a psychopath, George Sharkman. He is a therapist with his agenda. Elizabeth is knowledgeable but needs a role model, a sense of purpose, and validation. She needed love and understanding when she lost her fiancé to an accident. While in despair, Elizabeth hoped that George's mission for the higher truth would help her get past her loss. Once trapped, she could not see how to leave. Luckily, she met Judith, who, through common sense, logic, patience, understanding, and love, helped Elizabeth to break free of the hold that George and his group had on her.
I enjoyed this story very much. As I read Elizabeth's story, I wanted to yell, "Run, you fool." Elizabeth keeps the reader's attention, and one doesn't wish to stop reading as I wanted to see how Elizabeth escapes. I understood how she could get caught up in the cult. The New Age Doctrine thinking at the time influenced many around the world. It produced people like Charles Manson, David Koresh, and Jim Jones, to name a few.
This reader believes there are no negatives about the story. The author writes to all genres, sexes, and ideologies. She explains both her fascination and repulsion for George. Elizabeth, in Judith's words, "is like a child in a woman's body." Elizabeth is so close to the trees that she doesn't see the forest and can't find a path to get out. Thus, with Judith's help, she explains to the reader how it is possible to move on in life without the cult.
Both authors use imagery, metaphors, and similes to help the reader see the darker side of the cult. The writing style helped the reader understand how the authors worked through their emotions. The author's editor did an exceptional job, as I found no errors. This reader rates the book a 5 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book to those readers who feel they need to understand themselves. Elizabeth and Judith made me reflect on my upbringing. I, too, may have fallen into a cult if I had turned left instead of right. Parents with young adults who appear too involved with a group and are worried would also find this book helpful. I finished by quoting the book and the bible, John 8:32 NKJV, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." I see no better statement ever made for escaping the cult mentality.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
How many of us can say truthfully that our childhood was perfect? Most of us have had difficulty in our lifetimes. Have you had a tragedy happen as a child? As a young adult, have you been looking for love and comfort? Feel you need answers to your beliefs? If yes to any of these questions, I recommend reading The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir by Elizabeth R. Burchard and Judith L. Carlone. Elizabeth explains how, as a young adult, she got caught up with a psychopath, George Sharkman. He is a therapist with his agenda. Elizabeth is knowledgeable but needs a role model, a sense of purpose, and validation. She needed love and understanding when she lost her fiancé to an accident. While in despair, Elizabeth hoped that George's mission for the higher truth would help her get past her loss. Once trapped, she could not see how to leave. Luckily, she met Judith, who, through common sense, logic, patience, understanding, and love, helped Elizabeth to break free of the hold that George and his group had on her.
I enjoyed this story very much. As I read Elizabeth's story, I wanted to yell, "Run, you fool." Elizabeth keeps the reader's attention, and one doesn't wish to stop reading as I wanted to see how Elizabeth escapes. I understood how she could get caught up in the cult. The New Age Doctrine thinking at the time influenced many around the world. It produced people like Charles Manson, David Koresh, and Jim Jones, to name a few.
This reader believes there are no negatives about the story. The author writes to all genres, sexes, and ideologies. She explains both her fascination and repulsion for George. Elizabeth, in Judith's words, "is like a child in a woman's body." Elizabeth is so close to the trees that she doesn't see the forest and can't find a path to get out. Thus, with Judith's help, she explains to the reader how it is possible to move on in life without the cult.
Both authors use imagery, metaphors, and similes to help the reader see the darker side of the cult. The writing style helped the reader understand how the authors worked through their emotions. The author's editor did an exceptional job, as I found no errors. This reader rates the book a 5 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book to those readers who feel they need to understand themselves. Elizabeth and Judith made me reflect on my upbringing. I, too, may have fallen into a cult if I had turned left instead of right. Parents with young adults who appear too involved with a group and are worried would also find this book helpful. I finished by quoting the book and the bible, John 8:32 NKJV, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." I see no better statement ever made for escaping the cult mentality.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Shanghai'd by Curtis Stephen Burdick
