Parler à des inconnus

by Marianne Boucher

For fans of Wild Wild Country, Scientology and the Aftermath and Uncover: Escaping NXIVM, a spellbinding graphic memoir about a teenage girl who was lured into a cult and later fought to escape and reclaim her identity.

Welcome to a place where you are valued. Where everyone is kind. Where you can be your truest self.

It was the summer of 1980, and Marianne Boucher was ready to chase her figure skating dream. Fuelled by the desire to rise above her mundane high-school life, she sought a new adventure as a glamorous performer in L.A.

And then a chance encounter on a California beach introduced her to a new group of people. People who shared her distrust of the status quo. People who seemed to value authenticity and compassion above all else. And they liked her. Not Marianne the performer, but Marianne the person.

Soon, she'd abandoned school, her skating and, most dramatically, her family to live with her new friends and help them fulfill their mission of "saving the world." She believed that no sacrifice was too great to be there—and to live with real purpose. They were helping people, and they cared about her . . . didn't they?

Talking to Strangers is the true story of Marianne Boucher's experiences in a cult, where she was subjected to sophisticated brainwashing techniques that took away her freedom, and took over her mind. Told in mesmerizing graphic memoir form, with vivid text and art alike, Marianne shares how she fell in with devotees of a frightening spiritual abuser, and how she eventually, painfully, pulled herself out.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Memoir, Comics, Cults, Religion, Canada

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2020

Reviews

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halloween Bingo 2022

I think this is an excellent way to show and explain the way cults suck in new members. The author is just a few years my junior and I remember seeing various “religions" during my first year on a university campus, attempting to recruit the unwary. Hell, I know older people who've become overzealous recruiters for programs, people, or products. The graphic novel format engages the reader visually through the art as well as intellectually with the words. It reads much more quickly than a traditional memoir, making it more easily accessible.

Boucher understands how easily young people can be lured away by a cult, having experienced it. She seems to have been from a pretty ordinary family, but she wasn't out of high school yet. She was still learning who she was and had no clear idea of what she wanted to do with her life. This is a vulnerable stage of life, when a person is susceptible to being steered into dubious life paths. Separated from family, friends, and their usual environment, all people can be convinced to change their minds about some things. Once the cult has accomplished that first shift, they know they can do more and the pressure increases.

Getting in is so easy. Accept the wrong invitation. Trust someone too quickly. Then getting out is so hard. The cult has become both family and friends and the cult member has difficulty believing outside information. Boucher gives an eye-opening account of the aftermath, with shame, depression, and nightmares. She was ashamed that she was “dumb" enough to get swept up in the Moonies, not giving herself the compassion that she deserved. It took quite a while to overcome the programming and her life had been pulled out of shape. Education interrupted, skating competition abandoned, family ties in need of mending.

Cults = mindfuckery. I read this graphic novel for the Psych square of Halloween Bingo.

[an_sunie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 2.8

This graphic novel does give a good introduction to cults and their methods (brings me back to grade 11 ISAP) and tells Marianne's story of her time in a cult and ultimately her escape. This was a really quick read of only 90 pages.

I feel that a few more details could have been added since for me it felt like there were parts that were unfortunately not developed enough. I would still definitely recommend this book to people since it does send a good message and some information about tactics used by cults.

FINAL THOUGHT: trust

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

After thinking about this for a couple of days, I ended up downgrading this to two stars from three. I just don't think this graphic novel is particularly effective at telling its story. I kept having to check to see if I'd accidentally skipped a page because I couldn't understand the context of what was going on in the story. I also found the artwork stiff. Overall this reminded me disconcertingly of a Chick Tract, and once my brain made that comparison, I couldn't get over it.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit that although I am fascinated by cults I didn't know very much about the Moonies. I remember something about a mass wedding of the members but I had no idea it was (do the Moonies still exist?) a financial scam more than a religion. This memoir gives a good look at the cults recruitment and brainwashing methods. It is pretty terrifying how easily teens and young adults can be sucked into the cult and how difficult it is to leave. There is only so much information that can be gone into through a graphic novel and I would have loved a lot more depth like from a novel. This was a quick and easy read, although I did feel a bit stressed when Marianne's parents and the deprogrammer had to physically capture and hold her. What a harrowing story!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A personal but pretty brief (underdeveloped?) account of Boucher’s time with and escape from the Moonies.

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful graphic memoir about how the author falls into a cult and becomes so deeply entrenched, as well as her struggles to break free and the traumatic aftermath. The book portrays the various manipulation tactics that cults employ, how they erode one's sense of self and why it's often so hard for people to get out.

I found this to be a very informative read and hence am surprised by the low rating. Sure, things are a bit on the abstract side but I feel like a lot of it is simply the author trying to work through her feelings and trauma. It's one of those books written for herself and not for an audience, so I'm glad to be given a glimpse into her experiences.

I wish the book was in full colour though. Look at the gorgeous cover and its splash of red!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, but it felt too short. I had to flip pages back and forth to see if I missed a page or panel to help explain what was going on. Although this is a memoir, we spend considerable time with Marianne's mom, who is trying to extract her from the cult, and I didn't feel terribly connected to either the main character or her mother.

[George Ilsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1980, an 18 year old figure skater on a trip to California is "love-bombed" by two friendly young people, and her life is upended.

Note: Love-bombed is not the term used in this book, but is a common recruitment tool. Boucher does reference other indoctrination and control techniques, as well as "deprogramming" tactics.

A "cult" is a bit like "art" — no one can say exactly what it is, but you know it when you see it. There is no legal definition of a "cult." The group Boucher joined (and eventually escaped, with the help of her determined parents) is still in existence.

Because the indoctrination process is hard to see (from the outside), it can be difficult to appreciate the slippery nuance of Boucher's experience. Of course, with hindsight being 20/20, one can see the warning signs.

Boucher brings in quotes from writers and researchers to enrich the narrative. To find reality, according to Thoreau, we must explore "through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance..."

The trouble of course, with breaking free from cults (or delusion of any type), is what do you trust?

The important topics in this graphic memoir might have been better treated and more fully explored in a narrative text. The graphic format feels superficial, considering the potential depth of the material.

[Felicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels harsh to rate a memoir kind of low, but the reading experience was only okay for me. I'm always intrigued by cult stories, sadly this one didn't do much for me. I felt like things could have been explained a bit better at times - there were points when I felt lost as to the timeline of events. I also thought that the story felt like it was just skimming the surface, it could have been much more developed. The art style was only okay for me, I didn't feel particularly moved by it. I wouldn't deter anyone from reading this at all, I was just underwhelmed by the experience.

[Hannah]

I really enjoyed the art in this. I also really appreciated the story of her time with the Moonies. Cults fascinate me and I felt like this showed how easily it is to fall into one. Marianne shows how they search for people to prey on and how they are able to change your mindset. Really well done.

[William O’Pomegranate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it’s another cult story, starting with the author’s introduction to the cult and ending with her escape. Overall, it’s quite strong, but the story is surface level and the ending is rushed. The cult claimed her family kidnapped her, but that element is abandoned as soon as it’s brought up. It feels like the chapter that should have dealt with this issue was ripped out of the book so I could end sooner. It would have been better not to include that if there wasn’t an interest in exploring it further.

In the end, why I can’t give this book more than three stars is it’s just another cult story in an oversaturated market. Now, if one genre has to be oversaturated, it should be this one because if this book can help one person, then that’s incredible. I’m overjoyed that this book and all its compatriots exist. But as a consumer who has already dined heavily on cult content, there isn’t anything new or interesting here.

[jhabelita]

Cult stories fascinates me which is why I picked up this graphic memoir. However, I felt like this barely scratches the full story. I think it was meant that way to leave out some private details and just work around from her mom's journal. It might be hard to draw/write in her full POV as it may relived some of the "memories".

TL;DR: It wasn't a bad read. Probably a good start in reading stories about cults. It's just too short for me. I wish t'was longer. Or better yet, in a form of text rather than in graphic format.

[SuperWendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read much graphic-anything, but I thought this was well done. The black & white artwork is pleasing to look at and tells the story of how a young girl, away from home for the first time in 1980, visits Los Angeles and falls in with The Moonies. I really enjoyed the perspective we get of Marianne's mother, and Marianne's own struggles with PTSD after she escapes the cult.

[Anais919 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot about Scientology and Georgetown. My father was RCMP running the UBC detachment and mentioned cult recruitment that occurred all to easily on campus. This gx memoir of a cult survivor illustrates how easy it is to be drawn in and brainwashed when your vulnerable. Highly recommend to all!

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this difficult to review and rate since I don’t usually read graphic novels. I liked how the use of images and speech bubbles presented different perspectives, changing it from a memoir into more of a story. As a result, it felt a little less deep. Overall, I enjoyed it and would be interested in reading more graphic novels in the future.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talking to Strangers is an interesting, if quick, read.

While a multitude of books deal with the process of succumbing to a cult or the various manners in which people are 'de-programmed' and exit such nefarious groups I have yet to see any do so in the form of a graphic novel. Let alone deal with it in such a blunt and easy to understand way as this book did. Marianne Boucher deals with the way that she was recruited to, and eventually left, the "Moonies" in the 1980s when she was a very young teen. Rather than focus solely upon her own experience, she also talks about what her family (in particular her mother) went through during her time in the cult.

The book is exceedingly honest, and the conflicting emotions that she still feels come through in the writing and art. The black and white drawings are incredibly expressive, and the simplicity of the text makes the story a bit more jarring considering what it is depicting. While not the sordid sexual tales of Manson and NXIVM this is the emotional manipulation of the very worthiness of self and breakdown of ego and how very easy it is for both to happen.

This was a fascinating quick read, and one that left with with more books on my to-read list when I finished it. I particularly enjoyed the focus on the de-programming and how that worked at the time, the after-effects of it and how they linger. I haven't read a great deal about what happens after exiting a cult in terms of how to regain your sense of self so I found that pretty riveting and leaving me wanting to learn more.

A good, honest read. I wonder if the Moonies still exist?

[Jeff B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is a memoir of a young lady who joins a cult - the Moonies. I have an interest in cults and thought this was a powerful book with something to say. Here are my thoughts:

1. I read other reviews and many complained of it being too short. I like a quick read and appreciated it's succinctness. I thought it was a powerful story that was well told, though there were a few details that I would have liked being included such as how long she was in the cult (weeks? months? years? - I don't think it was years) and maybe more details of her life within the cult.

2. As a parent, I thought it did well in telling the frustration, desperation, and helplessness that the parents felt in trying to remove their legally-adult child from this cult. I made my 13-year old kid promise not to join a cult several times this week, though I know it's not that simple.

3. I really liked that it didn't just end with the protagonist leaving the cult, but explored the guilt and confusion that remained with her long after she returned from the cult. The reason she was so susceptible to joining a cult in the first place was still a part of her. Powerful.

4. I'm currently reading Walden by Thoreau and that's what the protagonist was reading when the cult members approached her. I had to wonder if that was a cue that this was a person looking for something more out of life, and therefore, an easy target. I liked how it went full circle and had an applicable quote by Thoreau at the end.

Anyway, I enjoyed this succinct graphic novel memoir about joining a cult. While this book is interesting and powerful for everyone, I think that parents may appreciate this book on a different and deeper level.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

A unique way of telling the story of a young woman in a cult.
Good illustrations. Fast, short read.
I don’t know much about The Moonies cult but I didn’t learn anything thru reading this. This was more of a good explanation of recruitment processes & the methods used to indoctrinate people into them. Also, the ways the family deals with a member being in one & how they get their loved ones out.

I imagine this was a good therapeutic way for the author to deal with her traumatic past but it was underdeveloped in parts.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to speak badly of someone's personal story, but this didn't really do it for me. It sounded interesting, but the execution was lacking. I had a hard time following the timeline, and I feel like it could have benefitted from being more fleshed out. Although I didn't love the artwork, I do feel like it fit the story and the time period, and I did like the waterpaint-y grey used to shade it.

[Eric Piotrowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read filled with important perspectives from the author. Her journey from aspiring ice-skater to mentally-captive inductee of the Moonies is heartbreaking and told with skill. I thought often of a quote from the HBO documentary NXIVM series The Vow: "No one joins a cult. People join organizations of people who are working on positive things, and then later we realize what we've actually become a part of." (That's a paraphrase.)

The biggest negative of this book is a lack of compelling emotional visual detail. The main character's face looks nearly identical when skating, when singing, when showering in cold water, when fasting for Holy Father, when being dragged away by her family, and when waking up from nightmares.

The external world is also not rendered with the kind of impressionistic liberties that the format allows. There are some interesting exceptions to this — a cat symbolizing her acceptance of irony, and the moon crashing through a window — but for the most part the backgrounds and ink palettes are much of a muchness. (There's no color, which I don't mind.)

I enjoyed this story for what it is, and while I appreciate the courage it took to create, and the compassion it offers to others in a similar predicament (or likely to land in one). Still, I kept thinking about the elements I wanted it to have, and I kept feeling a little disappointed.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marianne had dreams of a career in figure skating until two strangers walked up to her on a beach and convinced her to go with them to join an organization known as CARP. Soon Marianne had given up her dreams in favor of working toward healing all the evils in the world based around the teachings of Sun Myung Moon. Meanwhile, her parents attempt to declare her a missing person and enlist the aid of cult deprogrammers to get her out, but the battle doesn't end once she's out.

I haven't read much about the "Moonies" so I wish there had been more information about them and what made them a "dangerous" cult as compared to some others - there were definitely elements of brainwashing and control going on, but other than that I didn't have a sense of what the real danger was. The sections chronicling her mother's journey had more of a clarity that gave a nice contrast to Marianne's mental when she was with the cult. Overall it was a good introduction to cults and focused mostly on how cults recruit their members.

[Olive · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting though unfortunately very quick read. I really would've loved for it to be longer and have more in-depth details, because it's a fascinating story. Both the being lured into the cult and brainwashed, and then the deprogramming and "rescue" mission by the parents. I have a feeling the author may have not had the bandwidth to go any deeper into the story and details, which I certainly respect, but it unfortunately felt a bit too quick and surface-level to give it more than 3 stars.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

lol I think I've read too many books about cults because this one for me was pretty basic.

Also as a graphic novel it was confusing because some of her word bubbles seemed to be going right to left but it wasn't FULLY right to left like a manga, it was just like....sometimes conversations were really weird until I tried again. I don't think it was meant to be a purposeful disorientation (like if it only happened when cult leaders were speaking or something like that....)

I also felt like time was compressed in a weird way here but I'm not sure. Eh!

[Kaitlyn Novotny · Rating 3 out of 5]

My main issue here is that I wanted MORE. More background on the Moonies, more of the cultural implications and context, more of the interpersonal relationships and manipulations. The author does a good job of delving into their firsthand experience of being pulled in to the cult (and the harrowing experience of her family, mainly mom, to get her back out), but I was left a little confused as to the overall timeline, the exact living conditions, how the cult operated, etc. This felt like a great overview but could also be part 1 of a series.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

it’s a good thing this is a graphic novel, because i’m not sure i would have gotten through it if it weren’t. i didn’t really like the writing, especially at the end. i don’t really know how to explain it, it just didn’t work for me at all. there was also this focus on the rescue mission, which should have been exciting but fell kind of flat and boring. i can’t put it into words properly, but moral of this terribly done review is that this book just did not work for me and i didn’t really enjoy reading it all that much.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is fantastic and I would highly recommend this book just as an exploration into cults and what happens during and after. However, the art left something to be desired, which is a big part of graphic novels. It was often confusing and a little disappointing on that front. I will also add - Marianne is talking about the Moonies cult and if you're looking for an in-depth book about said cult, this is not the book for you.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A true story of how the author was manipulated to join a cult (The Moonies) and how her family worked to save her. This was a fairly short graphic novel and although it was a personal account I felt it lacked details of what actually resonated with her to persuade her to join.

[Seb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad and scary

[Megan Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, simple. I would have liked a little more about the Moonies agenda but this is her story. Illustrations were great!

[Annie L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intéressant. Bouleversant. Fascinant. Comment de parfaits inconnus peuvent nous amener à nous perdre à ce point. Beau témoignagne.