The sub-title of this book is ‘LIFE ON A CULT TV SHOW WHILE ALSO IN AN ACTUAL CULT,’ which pretty much sums it up. If you watched ONE TREE HILL in the early 2000s, you will know this lady. Her story of how she got sucked into the cult is very compelling, because she really talks you through how gradual it is. I guess the point is, no one wakes up and decides ‘today I’ll join a cult.’ It really teaches you to be on your guard. I think the primary point they pushed was for her to not listen to herself, and her own judgement, but rather to god/the cult leader/her doubts. Once you have conceded that your opinion is unimportant, you are basically 90% of the way there. This poor woman had her life really wrecked. She talks about how she decided to be public – not just in the book, but in daily life – about being in a cult, and about how embarrassed she is that hers was not even one of the big, weird cults. She’s ashamed to have to say there was no KoolAid or judgement day. It was just a small, Bible-based group. But it did the business anyway. And it’s still out there in Idaho, ruining people’s lives.
DINNER WITH VAMPIRES by Bethany Joy Lenz
