Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

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

11 reviews

annieliz's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Gaslighting

siobhanward's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

3.5

This book is hard to rate because while it was well-written and in-depth, the topic itself was so gruesome that it was hard to get through. I knew almost nothing about NXIVM (I thought it was called "nuh-vix-um" this whole time), but it was so much worse than I could have expected. I have a fairly strong stomach and have done a fair amount of reading about cults, but this one was so bad that I had to take breaks fairly often. Please, please check triggers before reading this one! Overall, it was well-researched but honestly I think it went too in-depth at times. I think sometimes Berman went so deep into people's stories that I found myself lost and trying to figure out who was who and what was happening. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Pregnancy

kellylynnthomas's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.5

This book is W I L D. At times I did find it a little difficult to follow all the names (I was listening to the audiobook), but eventually I settled into the story. And what a story! I had been aware of NXIVM and that it had been broken up, but I had no idea how truly awful things were for the women who were coerced into joining. Well worth a read, but be aware of the trigger warnings; the book is full of sexual abuse and worse. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Gaslighting

valzsc's review against another edition

dark informative tense medium-paced

3.75

After listening to a few podcasts through the years, I thought I knew some things about NXIVM but I was wrong.

I love the way the story was told by the author. The fact that it is not written chronologically made it a lot more engaging, letting you know a little bit by bit until you get to the full story of each individual she interviewed or had context of.

As this story is really sad and dark, I don’t think it’s a book I would go back to (nor sooner, nor later). It is dark, twisted, and I feel bad for all the things these women went through. Really bad. 

Overall, storytelling is great, it is engaging and entertaining and the story is heartbreaking. If you want to add to the mix you can also watch the show, it’s called The Vow, so you get the audiovisual experience (also getting to know more of Nancy Salzman’s side of the story, whom I think is not mentioned a lot on this book)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

joe_dmh's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Confinement, Eating disorder, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

melissahawco's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

bahamyulala's review against another edition

informative sad slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

winnifred's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, and Stalking

Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol

hollymich's review against another edition

dark informative tense medium-paced

4.0

A chilling and thorough account of the disturbing events surrounding NXIVM. The facts are presented logically and understandably, despite there being so many people involved over so many years. It is haunting how this happened so recently, right under our noses. I think there is a lot to be learned in this book about the signs of manipulation and abuse, although that is not the book's goal. All in all, I praise Berman for her diligent research and dedication to sharing this story.

I recommend the audiobook!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, and Alcohol

nain's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment