Scan barcode
A review by erica_reads01
Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult by Michelle Dowd
2.5
Forager is the true story about a woman who was raised in an apocalyptic cult. The premise is of course intriguing, and I’ve seen many documentaries and movies and read other books involving cults and they’ve always fascinated me. I was excited to read her story and learn how she escaped.
Unfortunately, this book didn’t deliver. I don’t want to take anything away from the author and her real life experiences because I’m sure it was difficult and traumatic. But I don’t feel that the experience comes across authentically or in a way that dives deeper into what happened and why and how it affected her in present day. She narrates the audiobook which felt unnatural to me. Her cadence and delivery felt upbeat and energetic and didn’t match the words she was speaking. I think it may have been more impactful if narrated by someone else or if I had read the book myself instead of listening.
I understand her desire to protect the privacy of her family, but I think some more context as to how and why this cult formed would have been helpful to the story. I found it difficult to follow the timeline since everything was told in present tense and she jumped around a bit so it wasn’t told chronologically. I wish there had been more emotional story telling rather than surface level information. The field notes read like a scientific journal. Her explanation of how her mother taught her skills that helped her to escape is an interesting way to look at it, but could’ve been further explained. She was being taught things that seem counterintuitive and contradictory to what she was being forced to endure. I enjoyed hearing her interpretations of the Bible and how being raised to know how to survive in any situation was how she realized she could survive outside of that life and be better off. Of course she’s an author now and said she has a family of her own, and she was able to communicate with her mother later in life as her mom was dying. I would have liked more of her thoughts now sprinkled in as she reflected on what happened to her as a child. Rather than just listing things that happened to her and not saying much more. She said in an interview that her life after she left and how she learned to acclimate to the wider world could be a whole book on its own. I think this book would’ve been more effective if she had brought some of that into it.
Unfortunately, this book didn’t deliver. I don’t want to take anything away from the author and her real life experiences because I’m sure it was difficult and traumatic. But I don’t feel that the experience comes across authentically or in a way that dives deeper into what happened and why and how it affected her in present day. She narrates the audiobook which felt unnatural to me. Her cadence and delivery felt upbeat and energetic and didn’t match the words she was speaking. I think it may have been more impactful if narrated by someone else or if I had read the book myself instead of listening.
I understand her desire to protect the privacy of her family, but I think some more context as to how and why this cult formed would have been helpful to the story. I found it difficult to follow the timeline since everything was told in present tense and she jumped around a bit so it wasn’t told chronologically. I wish there had been more emotional story telling rather than surface level information. The field notes read like a scientific journal. Her explanation of how her mother taught her skills that helped her to escape is an interesting way to look at it, but could’ve been further explained. She was being taught things that seem counterintuitive and contradictory to what she was being forced to endure. I enjoyed hearing her interpretations of the Bible and how being raised to know how to survive in any situation was how she realized she could survive outside of that life and be better off. Of course she’s an author now and said she has a family of her own, and she was able to communicate with her mother later in life as her mom was dying. I would have liked more of her thoughts now sprinkled in as she reflected on what happened to her as a child. Rather than just listing things that happened to her and not saying much more. She said in an interview that her life after she left and how she learned to acclimate to the wider world could be a whole book on its own. I think this book would’ve been more effective if she had brought some of that into it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape