Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Don't Call It a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of Nxivm by Sarah Berman

7 reviews

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense

4.25

What does it take to make a self improvement curriculum into a cult with an even more sick cult inside of it? It starts with one man with too much stock in a sketchy self-administered IQ test and an obsession with psychogical manipulation, MLMs, and Ayn Rand, but couldn't be realized without an intense social network. 

The writing itself is very engaging and this is thoroughly researched. There was intense background on Raniere along with the full scope of his network and how it grew, but Berman also interviewed many women who were in NXIVM and used information from the court case to show their stories. 

The events of what happened are truely wild. At a few points, I had to take a break from it and even considered stopping about 3/4 of the way in because as horrid as things had been at that point, there were a few really intense experiences that they went into. But I'm glad I did finish it. I didn't plan it this way, but I think this was a good bridge from Hey Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson into some of the books on Scientology that are on my TBR (yes, Raniere was clearly inspired by both Amway and L Ron Hubbard, though he denies clearly being inspired by dianetics).

If you're interested in cults or social psychology (and are ready for the sort of content that is present when talking about such awful groups), I would definitely recommend this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Suicide, Gaslighting, Rape, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

Moderate: Abortion

Branding, forced abortion, spiritual abuse, abuse under threat of deportation

thepeachmartini's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

I am very familiar with NXIVM, having read Sarah Edmondson's book and listening to countless podcasts on the subject, but I always appreciate information presented from folks who were not directly involved in it. As expected, it's a sordid tale of coercion, trafficking, manipulation, and greed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Self harm, Confinement, and Suicide

cassiecraycray's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

5.0

I knew very little when I started this book, and holy sh*t, I wasn't prepared for everything I was about to read. Several times I had to put the book down to give my mind a minute to process. 
This book was very informative, and I feel laid out in a good way. It covers alot of heavy topics but in a respectful way. It wasn't extremely graphic, covering what needed to be said while not giving some more horrible details.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Sexism, Suicide, Trafficking, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Rape, and Pedophilia

cassmreads's review against another edition

dark informative tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body shaming and Self harm

Minor: Suicide

clarabooksit's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Trafficking, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Torture, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Self harm, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Confinement, Child abuse, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, and Abandonment

rachel_rat's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

The most comprehensive piece of media I’ve consumed about NXIVM so far. It starts with Raniere’s childhood and goes year by year all the way through to his sentencing in 2020. It has plenty of in-depth testimonies from women who have not been featured in other books, podcasts, or tv shows about the organization. I do not recommend this book as a cold open to NXIVM since it is so comprehensive it can be a little confusing if you don’t have any grasp on the organization and its members already. I’d suggest the 4 episode show “Seduced”, made by STARZ, as a starter on NXIVM.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicide

kaitstrong's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse