Review of The Cult Next Door
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Kofi R Browne
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- Latest Review: The Cult Next Door by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone
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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.]
Follow along in this chilling non-fiction memoir of a young college girl Elizabeth as she takes action to navigate her mental health but instead encounters a schemer who changes her life in a determined and skillful manner. Meet the people in Elizabeth’s life and discover their actions that positioned her on this odyssey toward depletion and destruction. At one of the most devastating parts of her journey, Elizabeth meets Judith. Discover how this meeting affected Elizabeth’s life and if it changed her path of misery. Reflect on Judith’s accounting of the events of their meeting as she adds her input at times during Elizabeth’s story. Examine your conjectures about weak-willed and unintelligent people being easily deceived in The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir.
Elizabeth R. Burchard and Judith L. Carlone composed The Cult Next Door in such a powerful and brilliant recounting I devoured this book in one day spurred on by heavily felt emotions of mainly anger. I have immense appreciation for this book because of the courage that these authors mustered to present this bone-chilling tell-all account of such a personal experience. The story was trauma-triggering and hair-raising. I found myself grinding my teeth and digging my nails into my palms. I had to take deep breaths and reread a section or two as my mind tried to escape the events that struck me the most. I found it challenging to read through the times when Elizabeth was severely manipulated and desperately alone. I found it exhausting to witness Elizabeth’s mother disregard her only child. I had to continue to remind myself that the purpose of this telling was to bring awareness to cult culture and mind control and help people understand that those who have been duped are not necessarily easily influenced. I found that cult participants can and often do question the viewpoint of the charismatic authority of the cult, though usually at the expense of embarrassment or punishment. I found it extremely helpful for my mental state that there was an appendix section for discussion questions. Although I did not read this book as part of a group, reflecting on the discussion questions helped me decompress. As much as I felt extreme dislike for George Sharkman, the main antagonist in this story, reading the interview he gave, documented in the appendix, presented me with insight into how he used the truth as a basis for his statements to reel people in on his beliefs.
The only thing that I found that I did not like about this story is that it did not contain a trigger warning. I am not sure if the “trigger warning” was a concept when this book was published or if using a trigger warning only applied to graphic depictions. Still, I certainly would have appreciated one to prepare myself for some of the topics presented in this book. The book was written by the main character Elizabeth Burchard now a Licensed Social Worker (LSW), yet, a trigger warning was not included. Adding a trigger warning is solely my opinion and not a law.
I rate The Cult Next Door a 4 out of 5. This book was amazingly written and adequately edited. The story was easy to follow and exciting enough to keep turning the pages.
I would recommend this book to any person struggling with any type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any adversity in their lives. I would recommend this book to students of psychology or social sciences. This book may not be suitable for people who are lost, confused, or at a crossroads in their lives.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Follow along in this chilling non-fiction memoir of a young college girl Elizabeth as she takes action to navigate her mental health but instead encounters a schemer who changes her life in a determined and skillful manner. Meet the people in Elizabeth’s life and discover their actions that positioned her on this odyssey toward depletion and destruction. At one of the most devastating parts of her journey, Elizabeth meets Judith. Discover how this meeting affected Elizabeth’s life and if it changed her path of misery. Reflect on Judith’s accounting of the events of their meeting as she adds her input at times during Elizabeth’s story. Examine your conjectures about weak-willed and unintelligent people being easily deceived in The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir.
Elizabeth R. Burchard and Judith L. Carlone composed The Cult Next Door in such a powerful and brilliant recounting I devoured this book in one day spurred on by heavily felt emotions of mainly anger. I have immense appreciation for this book because of the courage that these authors mustered to present this bone-chilling tell-all account of such a personal experience. The story was trauma-triggering and hair-raising. I found myself grinding my teeth and digging my nails into my palms. I had to take deep breaths and reread a section or two as my mind tried to escape the events that struck me the most. I found it challenging to read through the times when Elizabeth was severely manipulated and desperately alone. I found it exhausting to witness Elizabeth’s mother disregard her only child. I had to continue to remind myself that the purpose of this telling was to bring awareness to cult culture and mind control and help people understand that those who have been duped are not necessarily easily influenced. I found that cult participants can and often do question the viewpoint of the charismatic authority of the cult, though usually at the expense of embarrassment or punishment. I found it extremely helpful for my mental state that there was an appendix section for discussion questions. Although I did not read this book as part of a group, reflecting on the discussion questions helped me decompress. As much as I felt extreme dislike for George Sharkman, the main antagonist in this story, reading the interview he gave, documented in the appendix, presented me with insight into how he used the truth as a basis for his statements to reel people in on his beliefs.
The only thing that I found that I did not like about this story is that it did not contain a trigger warning. I am not sure if the “trigger warning” was a concept when this book was published or if using a trigger warning only applied to graphic depictions. Still, I certainly would have appreciated one to prepare myself for some of the topics presented in this book. The book was written by the main character Elizabeth Burchard now a Licensed Social Worker (LSW), yet, a trigger warning was not included. Adding a trigger warning is solely my opinion and not a law.
I rate The Cult Next Door a 4 out of 5. This book was amazingly written and adequately edited. The story was easy to follow and exciting enough to keep turning the pages.
I would recommend this book to any person struggling with any type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any adversity in their lives. I would recommend this book to students of psychology or social sciences. This book may not be suitable for people who are lost, confused, or at a crossroads in their lives.
******
The Cult Next Door
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Kofi R. Browne
