Review by ssteppe92 -- The Cult Next Door

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ssteppe92
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Latest Review: The Cult Next Door by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone

Review by ssteppe92 -- The Cult Next Door

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[Following is a volunteer review of "The Cult Next Door" by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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From the very beginning of what she tells us about her life, Elizabeth Burchard is not set up for success. Her mother is well-educated, but she is far from a warm or encouraging parent. After her parents divorce and her father tragically passes, Rachael seems to form a need for some kind of male-guidance in the form of radical nutritionists, then moving onto therapists, eventually landing on George Sharkman. He deifies himself and sets strict rules for his “clients,” limiting outside social relationships and engaging them in sexual activities with each other and with him.


While both Rachael and her mother see George Sharkman for the next several decades of their lives, up until the point when Liz encounters a tragic loss, she still seems reasonably disconnected from George and his New-Age, self-aggrandizing beliefs despite her willing attendence. She has career aspirations and confidence. It is when tragedy strikes that Liz is pulled in, completely submerged into George’s delusional and abusive world where she spends the next two decades of her life.


Throughout her story, Elizabeth makes clear her internal conflict. Despite her upbringing by her cold and unattached mother since the age of twelve, Elizabeth has a strong sense of right and wrong, and she knows something about George and the group is not right, but she can’t think past what she was brainwashed to believe, which is that George can’t be wrong because he has the power of the “energy.”


Contrary to George’s rules, Liz has a friend outside the group, Judith Carlone, co-author, who ties her to the outside world serves as her mentor when Liz eventually starts the process of unlearning her brainwashing and rationalizing events with science and logic. She begins this process while still in the group, yet at the time, she never has intentions of leaving. What ends her involvement with the group is her lack of finances. Despite the years’ worth of money that Elizabeth has already sacrificed to George and to his daughter, George kicks Liz out of the group. Reading about her growth from this point forward is truly cathartic.


The Cult Next Door is a phenomenal account of Elizabeth Burchard’s life under the influence of her so-called therapist, and I give it 4 out of 4 stars . It is well-written, easy to follow, and absolutely gripping. While reading this book, you find yourself in many places thinking, “This is it, she’s finally had it and she’s going to leave,” and yet she remains in the cult after having so many realizations about its true nature. The psychology behind Liz and the other followers’ decisions is so thought provoking, and reading this account has made me want to learn about similar stories.

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The Cult Next Door
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