Cult-ish
Y’all—I think I have a neurodivergent special interest. Cults and high-control religions. I’m reading all the books and documentaries. I’m having a blast.
The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke
This memoir is by the eldest daughter of Ruby Franke. Her mother was a Mormon YouTube vlogger in the early 2010s and had a channel called Eight Passengers. Her mom gets caught up with a woman named Jodi Hildebrandt. Both are in prison now for child abuse. See documentaries on this case too: Ruby and Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence and Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke.
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
This book is a great overview of the kinds of tools cults use to get people engaged and also recognizes that we all do things that are cultish, but not cross into the region of being in a cult.
Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar
This memoir is by the fourth Dugger child from the show 19 Kids and Counting. It provides interesting insight into the Duggers and the International Biblical Life Principles religion. Shiny, Happy People is a documentary that explores both.
Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show by Bethany Joy Lenz
I didn’t watch One Tree Hill, but the author of this memoir plays Haley. She gets wrapped up in a Christian-adjacent cult that steals nearly all of her income from that show—millions of dollars.
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
This author does a full account of L. Ron Hubbard and the history of Scientology. He also does a great job of including the current role of the church in Hollywood.
A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy by Tia Levings
This one hit a little close to many of my clients’ experiences in the Christian church. She makes her way through several high-control Christian churches, including those practicing IBLP. In the last church before her escape, husbands were instructed to physically discipline their wives and then afterwards, have sex. I have seen more efficient and ethical ways to be kinky.
Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving Extremism by Megan Phelps-Roper
You know the Westboro Baptist church. They’re infamous for picketing military funerals and spewing hate towards the LGBTQ+ community. Megan is the lead pastor’s granddaughter. I love how she takes accountability for her role in perpetuating hate and details how she got out.
Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett
I was totally unaware of this cult Synanon. This memoir focuses primarily on the children’s experience which he says was lacking in the media. He writes beautifully about his own avoidant attachment and his mother’s personality disorder.
