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Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age
In this "unflinching and wildly entertaining" investigation of the modern New Age movement in America, a journalist aims to understand how women like Amy Carlson (the leader of Love Has Won) and others become devoutly invested in their beliefs (Talia Lavin, author of Culture Warlords).
Today, tarot cards, astrology and crystals are everywhere — on Instagram and TikTok, and sold at upscale boutiques and pricey wellness retreats. Journalist Leah Sottile turns her investigative eye toward the recent surge of New Age influencing American Culture. She looks at self-professed gurus like Love Has Won's Mother God and the mysterious channeler Ramtha, who have built devout followings based on their teachings. For more than a century, this pastel-colored world of love, light and enlightenment has been built upon a foundation of conspiracies, antisemitism, nationalism and a rejection of science.
In Blazing Eye Sees All, Sottile seeks to understand the quest for New Age spirituality in an era of fear that has made us open to anything that claims to bring relief from war, the climate crisis, COVID 19, and the myriad of other issues we face. At the same time, she attempts to draw a line between truly helpful, healing ideas and snake oil—helping us sort through the crystals to find true clarity.
Today, tarot cards, astrology and crystals are everywhere — on Instagram and TikTok, and sold at upscale boutiques and pricey wellness retreats. Journalist Leah Sottile turns her investigative eye toward the recent surge of New Age influencing American Culture. She looks at self-professed gurus like Love Has Won's Mother God and the mysterious channeler Ramtha, who have built devout followings based on their teachings. For more than a century, this pastel-colored world of love, light and enlightenment has been built upon a foundation of conspiracies, antisemitism, nationalism and a rejection of science.
In Blazing Eye Sees All, Sottile seeks to understand the quest for New Age spirituality in an era of fear that has made us open to anything that claims to bring relief from war, the climate crisis, COVID 19, and the myriad of other issues we face. At the same time, she attempts to draw a line between truly helpful, healing ideas and snake oil—helping us sort through the crystals to find true clarity.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
December 18, 2024
You can say many things about Leah Sottile's Blazing Eye Sees All, but you certainly cannot call it boring. Sottile takes a look at the cult, Love Has won, New Age Spiritualism, Lemuria, and a who's who of spiritual charlatans. I'm about to spill a lot of ink parsing out what is in this book. Ultimately, you need to ask yourself this question if you are deciding whether or not to read it. If you are okay with being entertained while not necessarily feeling fully informed, then you should read this book. If an author's inability to truly examine a subject with a critical eye is a requirement for you, then you should skip it.
Love Has Won, and really its leader Amy Carlson, is the main subject of the narrative. Love Has Won is based in....well, it kinda follows the philosophy of....Amy was kinda....well, I have now read a book and watched a documentary on Love Has Won and damn if I still can't explain it. Amy thought she was God. More specifically, she was "Mother God" and she had a succession of "Father Gods". She also drank colloidal silver to the point she turned blue. See, told you that you would be entertained.
There are numerous tangents off of the Love Has Won story line. Some have very clear connections like the spiritual charlatan that Amy claimed she was in a previous life. There are other very tenuous threads which Sottile follows briefly. At times, Sottile will also try to shoehorn misogyny into the story. I felt like none of these things really helped me understand Amy and Love Has Won. Also, none of them were investigated enough to convince me of anything really. That said, they were interesting diversions.
It must be said as well that I saw a long documentary on Love Has Won before the book. On one hand, it made me primed to enjoy the book. On the other hand, I could tell how much was left out of this book which could have been used. The tangents and diversions should have been replaced with more on the cult in the attempt to really shed some light on what was going on there. In the last few chapters, Sottile gets to interview Amy's children and these chapters are riveting. I wanted more, but alas, I had to hear more about Lemuria. It's a problem when a non-fiction book gets a bit too focused on the fictional ideas of the story instead of the people at the center of it.
In the end, I wasn't mad at Blazing Eye Sees All, but there are so many places where it plainly could have been better. The choice is yours whether it's a journey you want to take.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing.)
Love Has Won, and really its leader Amy Carlson, is the main subject of the narrative. Love Has Won is based in....well, it kinda follows the philosophy of....Amy was kinda....well, I have now read a book and watched a documentary on Love Has Won and damn if I still can't explain it. Amy thought she was God. More specifically, she was "Mother God" and she had a succession of "Father Gods". She also drank colloidal silver to the point she turned blue. See, told you that you would be entertained.
There are numerous tangents off of the Love Has Won story line. Some have very clear connections like the spiritual charlatan that Amy claimed she was in a previous life. There are other very tenuous threads which Sottile follows briefly. At times, Sottile will also try to shoehorn misogyny into the story. I felt like none of these things really helped me understand Amy and Love Has Won. Also, none of them were investigated enough to convince me of anything really. That said, they were interesting diversions.
It must be said as well that I saw a long documentary on Love Has Won before the book. On one hand, it made me primed to enjoy the book. On the other hand, I could tell how much was left out of this book which could have been used. The tangents and diversions should have been replaced with more on the cult in the attempt to really shed some light on what was going on there. In the last few chapters, Sottile gets to interview Amy's children and these chapters are riveting. I wanted more, but alas, I had to hear more about Lemuria. It's a problem when a non-fiction book gets a bit too focused on the fictional ideas of the story instead of the people at the center of it.
In the end, I wasn't mad at Blazing Eye Sees All, but there are so many places where it plainly could have been better. The choice is yours whether it's a journey you want to take.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing.)
March 16, 2025
As an avid non-fiction reader with an interest in new religious movements, cults, and critiques of the contemporary spirituality and wellness industry - aaand someone who is decidedly down with the woo-woo, and also healthily skeptical, and insatiably curious about the roots of the New Age movement - this book hit all the right notes for me.
Author Leah Sottile uses the story of the Love Has Won Cult and leader Amy Carlson/Mother God as a framing device and vehicle for exploring the roots of the contemporary New Age movement. She lays out for the reader, (with a particular focus on the New Age myth/obsession with Lemuria) a thread that leads us from Victorian Spiritualism and Helena Blavatsky's Theosophy, to the 1930s and the Ballard's Saint Germain focused religion, the I Am Movement, to the 80s/90s and Elizabeth Clare Prophet and her Church Universal and Triumphant, through to contemporary channeling teachers like Jane Roberts (Seth), JZ Knight (Ramtha) and their followers. She unearths the unfortunate connections of the roots of the New Age movement with bad/disproven science, eugenics, nationalism, racism, and antisemitism. It illuminates for the reader the spirituality/wellness to antivaxxer/conspiracy theorist to Q-Anon pipeline that has seemed baffling for many on the outside looking in.
The story of Love Has Won has particular relevance in the light of this history, showing how this cult's leader and members were regurgitating (mis)information with a long history and lineage they were completely unaware of. The dynamics of this group are by degrees troubling, abusive, angering, and just plain sad. I felt that the author did her best to humanize the subjects of her investigation. Even Amy Carlson, who by all accounts appeared to be a narcissist, addict/alcoholic, in varying throes of untreated mental illness. In the end her demands for obedience, her rambling delusions, and the enablers/cult members that surrounded her led to her own death by alcoholism, anorexia, and poisoning. The author helps us understand how this group of people got there, and the oft-hidden dark legacy of a broader movement trying to point people to the light.
Would highly recommend if you are interested in these subjects. While the author has a particular emphasis in mind, and I personally would have read a book three times as long and with a broader approach to the subject, the focus and narrative through lines are on point. This book illuminates an important part of the contemporary spiritual/new age/metaphysical movement.
Also if you are nerdy/academic/mildly obsessed with these topics the author does a great job of sharing her resources - books, archival materials, court records, and interviews with scientists, historians, academics, and people personally involved with these movements. Great work and research leading to a satisfying and thoroughly informative read.
ARC from NetGalley.
Author Leah Sottile uses the story of the Love Has Won Cult and leader Amy Carlson/Mother God as a framing device and vehicle for exploring the roots of the contemporary New Age movement. She lays out for the reader, (with a particular focus on the New Age myth/obsession with Lemuria) a thread that leads us from Victorian Spiritualism and Helena Blavatsky's Theosophy, to the 1930s and the Ballard's Saint Germain focused religion, the I Am Movement, to the 80s/90s and Elizabeth Clare Prophet and her Church Universal and Triumphant, through to contemporary channeling teachers like Jane Roberts (Seth), JZ Knight (Ramtha) and their followers. She unearths the unfortunate connections of the roots of the New Age movement with bad/disproven science, eugenics, nationalism, racism, and antisemitism. It illuminates for the reader the spirituality/wellness to antivaxxer/conspiracy theorist to Q-Anon pipeline that has seemed baffling for many on the outside looking in.
The story of Love Has Won has particular relevance in the light of this history, showing how this cult's leader and members were regurgitating (mis)information with a long history and lineage they were completely unaware of. The dynamics of this group are by degrees troubling, abusive, angering, and just plain sad. I felt that the author did her best to humanize the subjects of her investigation. Even Amy Carlson, who by all accounts appeared to be a narcissist, addict/alcoholic, in varying throes of untreated mental illness. In the end her demands for obedience, her rambling delusions, and the enablers/cult members that surrounded her led to her own death by alcoholism, anorexia, and poisoning. The author helps us understand how this group of people got there, and the oft-hidden dark legacy of a broader movement trying to point people to the light.
Would highly recommend if you are interested in these subjects. While the author has a particular emphasis in mind, and I personally would have read a book three times as long and with a broader approach to the subject, the focus and narrative through lines are on point. This book illuminates an important part of the contemporary spiritual/new age/metaphysical movement.
Also if you are nerdy/academic/mildly obsessed with these topics the author does a great job of sharing her resources - books, archival materials, court records, and interviews with scientists, historians, academics, and people personally involved with these movements. Great work and research leading to a satisfying and thoroughly informative read.
ARC from NetGalley.
June 5, 2025
I think most folks are familiar with the basics of Love Has Won (or I just live in a bubble of true-crime weirdos who all know it, in which case, oops, outed myself), probably through the HBO documentary that came out a few years ago, about Amy Carlson and her New Age nonsense cult that eventually became a prison and killed its creator after she poisoned herself with colloidal silver and her wacky cultists refused her pleas to take her to a hospital because they all believed the woo-woo would cure her (spoiler : it did not). The documentary is very good, but I think it sanewashes (if such a thing is possible) some of the more unpleasant aspects - the child abuse, the antisemitism, the racism.
I was telling my wife a while ago that I was sad that conspiracy theorists are all dangerous QAnon lunatics nowadays, and we can't have fun conspiracies anymore. Why can't we go back to the good old days of the 90s, and the X-Files, where people believed in sewer people and aliens and bigfoots and were just harmlessly delusional? This book makes me sad for the naive me of a few months ago, because I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that there are no fun conspiracy theories. If I may borrow from the words of Winston Churchill, "Never has so much been blamed by so many on so few" ... and by the few, I mean of course ... the Jews. This book alternates chapters describing the history of Love Has Won with chapters describing the context in which it germinated among a sea of New Age soup, which is a great framing device. It shows that nothing Amy did was really new -- New Age claptrap has been basically recycling and repackaging the same ingredients in various combinations since it got its start in the 60s (if not even further back to the Spiritualist movement around the turn of the century). And unfortunately one of those ideas seems to be that the Jews are responsible for everything. It baffles my mind to read things like this :
"Riccey found most of the people in Love Has Won to be irritating, but he liked Amy, a woman preaching about love who could find room inside of that love for antisemitism."
or
"The hosts [two giggly uneducated white girls in their 20s -- Ryan] constantly called back to their beliefs in 'the cabal', which was by then a well-known shorthand for antisemitic ideas about Jews conspiring to control the world and popular among QAnon believers. But they said everything with a smile, as if this was the true language of enlightenment."
Like, I expect neo-Nazis to be antisemitic. I don't expect crystal-channeling hippie flower children to be. But as the book makes a case, because all of these fringe weirdos are pulling from the same soup, it tends to work its way into everything regardless of what the outward-facing ideology is preaching. Kick the tires and scratch the paint of pretty much anything conspiracy-related, and you'll find a hideous caricature of a Jew orchestrating all the ills of the world. That idiot Congresswoman from Georgia ranting about Jewish Space Lasers suddenly makes a lot more sense. I mean, not literally, because that's crazytown, but I can see where she got it from. It's EVERYWHERE in these circles, so of course they must be behind the space lasers too!
But man, I wish I could believe in actual lizard-aliens, instead of lizard-aliens-as-coded-language-for-a-Jewish-cabal. Maybe that world never existed ... but I'm sad about its loss even so.
I was telling my wife a while ago that I was sad that conspiracy theorists are all dangerous QAnon lunatics nowadays, and we can't have fun conspiracies anymore. Why can't we go back to the good old days of the 90s, and the X-Files, where people believed in sewer people and aliens and bigfoots and were just harmlessly delusional? This book makes me sad for the naive me of a few months ago, because I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that there are no fun conspiracy theories. If I may borrow from the words of Winston Churchill, "Never has so much been blamed by so many on so few" ... and by the few, I mean of course ... the Jews. This book alternates chapters describing the history of Love Has Won with chapters describing the context in which it germinated among a sea of New Age soup, which is a great framing device. It shows that nothing Amy did was really new -- New Age claptrap has been basically recycling and repackaging the same ingredients in various combinations since it got its start in the 60s (if not even further back to the Spiritualist movement around the turn of the century). And unfortunately one of those ideas seems to be that the Jews are responsible for everything. It baffles my mind to read things like this :
"Riccey found most of the people in Love Has Won to be irritating, but he liked Amy, a woman preaching about love who could find room inside of that love for antisemitism."
or
"The hosts [two giggly uneducated white girls in their 20s -- Ryan] constantly called back to their beliefs in 'the cabal', which was by then a well-known shorthand for antisemitic ideas about Jews conspiring to control the world and popular among QAnon believers. But they said everything with a smile, as if this was the true language of enlightenment."
Like, I expect neo-Nazis to be antisemitic. I don't expect crystal-channeling hippie flower children to be. But as the book makes a case, because all of these fringe weirdos are pulling from the same soup, it tends to work its way into everything regardless of what the outward-facing ideology is preaching. Kick the tires and scratch the paint of pretty much anything conspiracy-related, and you'll find a hideous caricature of a Jew orchestrating all the ills of the world. That idiot Congresswoman from Georgia ranting about Jewish Space Lasers suddenly makes a lot more sense. I mean, not literally, because that's crazytown, but I can see where she got it from. It's EVERYWHERE in these circles, so of course they must be behind the space lasers too!
But man, I wish I could believe in actual lizard-aliens, instead of lizard-aliens-as-coded-language-for-a-Jewish-cabal. Maybe that world never existed ... but I'm sad about its loss even so.
February 28, 2025
"the chief wrong which false prophets do to their following is not financial... but the real harm is on the mental and spiritual plane. there are those who hunger and thirst after higher values which they feel wanting in their humdrum lives. they live in mental confusion or moral anarchy, and seek vaguely for truth and beauty and moral support. when they are deluded and then disillusioned, cynicism and confusion follow. the wrong of these things, as i see it, is not in the money the victims part with half so much as in the mental and spiritual poison they get. but that is precisely the thing the constitution put beyond the reach of the prosecutor, for the price of freedom of religion or of speech or of the press is that we must put up with, and even pay for, a good deal of rubbish." (u.s. supreme court justice robert jackson, as quoted in the book)leah sottile's blazing eye sees all is a fascinating look into the american new age movement and its assorted grifters, cons, scammers, swindlers, and other junk-peddling frauds. with amy carlson's (mother god) love has won at its center, sottile aims to make sense of these cults, situating their appeal within a broader context of nefarious american impulses and their darker currents. sottile's well-researched book is as illuminating as its subject is frustrating, as some of these crystal-laden cheats and their money-making schemes defy all credulity. blazing eye sees all charts the ongoing dangers of the exploitative new age culture in an era where insane conspiracies, demagoguery, anti-science, and predatory greed increasingly run roughshod over common sense and truth.
September 1, 2025
A study of new age spirituality. More cultish goodness (eh, weirdness), if you will. Fascinating, and well researched. Thanks to my friend Sarah Stewart Holland via a recent Pantsuit Politics pod episode!
August 2, 2025
If you were fascinated by the HBO series on Love Has Won (as I was) then you’ll probably find this interesting, but it would’ve been more thought-provoking if the passages on Lemuria and plate tectonics were replaced with material on why America as a country is uniquely friendly to this sort of thinking and behavior. Felt a little baited and switched in that regard. Nevertheless it’s deeply researched and clearly reported, so stars for that.
March 15, 2025
Blazing Eye Sees All; love has won, false prophets and The fever dream of the American New Age by Leah Sottile, In this new journalistic gift from the author we mainly learn about Amy Carlson, Who was a leader of a cult, despite the fact there were so many reasons not to believe in anything she said but to understand her story Miss Sottile takes us back to the beginning. She not only discusses the roots of the enlightenment era those most likely to fall for it The similarities between all the groups from the 1800s and on. She discusses the fox sisters the Eddie brothers The “I am “cult even a cult to the stars JC Duncan Who can summon a warrior from a place that don’t even exist and so much more. This book was so interesting how this normal every day woman got these people to not only believe in her but give her thousands and thousands of dollars call her mom, despite the fact she abandon her own three children believe she was God even though every day she got drunk and did drugs catered to her every whim and punishment and even put up with all the different men she made their father God. It’s so easy to blow off people like this in just say how could they be so stupid but the issue goes much deeper and she even explores that. I had never heard of this woman before but now that I have I will not soon forget about her. I love this authors books and totally recommend this one. Throughout the book she ask many questions and tries her best to answer them all I thought this book was well researched conversationally written and keeps you wanting to turn the page. #NetGalley,#TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #LeeSottile, #BlazingISeesAll,
June 28, 2025
#ad much love for my finished copy @grandcentralpub #partner
BLAZING EYE SEES ALL: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and The Fever Dream of the American New Age
Having watched all the docs of every cult ever, I’m very familiar of Mother God and other cults. I’ve always been intrigued by their “fake” teachings - bc let’s get real, people trapped in cults aren’t living by what they preach. While the followers have the best of intentions I think. But I found this book comprehensive, compelling, and bingeable af! Yes it took me months to finish 😂 - I squeezed it in when I could. But I enjoyed it everytime I picked it up. I recommended reading in a few days not months. But chronic illness runs my life so it is what it is.
New age, tarot cards, crystals. Take a look around and it’s easy to see why so many are turning to these types of things for some sort of understanding. Meaning in the chaos.
Well this book has it all and is so well researched. The writing is fabulous, I seriously couldn’t stop reading. Humans need stories - since the beginning of time we have relied on them. Let this be one you read. It’s fascinating.
Couldn’t recommend more! Loved it.
BLAZING EYE SEES ALL: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and The Fever Dream of the American New Age
Having watched all the docs of every cult ever, I’m very familiar of Mother God and other cults. I’ve always been intrigued by their “fake” teachings - bc let’s get real, people trapped in cults aren’t living by what they preach. While the followers have the best of intentions I think. But I found this book comprehensive, compelling, and bingeable af! Yes it took me months to finish 😂 - I squeezed it in when I could. But I enjoyed it everytime I picked it up. I recommended reading in a few days not months. But chronic illness runs my life so it is what it is.
New age, tarot cards, crystals. Take a look around and it’s easy to see why so many are turning to these types of things for some sort of understanding. Meaning in the chaos.
Well this book has it all and is so well researched. The writing is fabulous, I seriously couldn’t stop reading. Humans need stories - since the beginning of time we have relied on them. Let this be one you read. It’s fascinating.
Couldn’t recommend more! Loved it.
May 23, 2025
My library hold on this came in shortly after I watched the Love Has Won documentary on HBO and I wasn't sure if it would feel redundant to read this but actually it was a great expansion and complement to the documentary - it gave so much historical context for the documentary and created a big metanarrative of various New Agey things in American history.
Highly recommended if you're into this kind of thing!!
Highly recommended if you're into this kind of thing!!
October 21, 2025
Okay - delved too much into the freaky freaks in the cults and the minutiae of their conflicting beliefs. Stronger when the author moved away from that and into the analysis of why cults/conspiracy theories grow with the unique twist of having a female leader. Ending chapter with Amy’s son talking about why his mom was driven to be a cult leader was the most interesting.
Read
July 5, 2025Interesting, eye-opening, disturbing. A really good listen.
July 19, 2025
i have a lot of nickles after this book....... I feel kind of dizzy after speed running this book, but thats kind of how I always feel after hearing about new age cult shit. what a great time.
September 18, 2025
Now that I’ve had some time to think about this I love it more. I think the end is much better than the beginning, but the idea that people grasp onto spirituality because they’re looking for ways to heal their trauma really resonated with me.
TLDR: I am predisposed to joining a cult
TLDR: I am predisposed to joining a cult
May 30, 2025
I fucking love cults. Not joining them, of course. I was raised in one, so I expend an enormous amount of personal energy avoiding anything cult-like in my daily life and spiritual practice. However, it is undoubtedly due to my personal history that I have a morbid fascination with them. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book.
Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets and the Fever Dream of the American New Age by Leah Sottile is an interesting read. It features the well-publicized cult "Love Has Won" (the subject of an HBO documentary I've seen at least seven times, because it's *that* wild) as the central thread around which a disparate historical narrative about various American spiritual oddities is woven.
Sottile does a great job pulling common denominators from various influential cults and new age communities, highlighting the conspiratorial, antisemitic, and nationalistic themes that these influential groups all seem to have as part of their ethos. It's particularly interesting in the context of the Q-anon (no fucking relation whatsoever - I was Q online long before those fuckers started up with their nonsense) phenomenon and its impact on the 2016 and 2024 elections, respectively.
Blazing Eye Sees All is a sobering read. If for no other reason than it forces us to accept how easy it is to mislead and manipulate people via constitutionally protected belief systems for nefarious, disturbing, and sometimes fatal-to-democracy ends. Go read it.
Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets and the Fever Dream of the American New Age by Leah Sottile is an interesting read. It features the well-publicized cult "Love Has Won" (the subject of an HBO documentary I've seen at least seven times, because it's *that* wild) as the central thread around which a disparate historical narrative about various American spiritual oddities is woven.
Sottile does a great job pulling common denominators from various influential cults and new age communities, highlighting the conspiratorial, antisemitic, and nationalistic themes that these influential groups all seem to have as part of their ethos. It's particularly interesting in the context of the Q-anon (no fucking relation whatsoever - I was Q online long before those fuckers started up with their nonsense) phenomenon and its impact on the 2016 and 2024 elections, respectively.
Blazing Eye Sees All is a sobering read. If for no other reason than it forces us to accept how easy it is to mislead and manipulate people via constitutionally protected belief systems for nefarious, disturbing, and sometimes fatal-to-democracy ends. Go read it.
March 25, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!
I haven't consumed much true crime/nonfiction in general in the past few years because I was tired of how disrespectful authors, podcasters, and showrunners were to the folks involved. Sottile threaded the needle between calling out heinous behavior and showing compassion for the victims and perpetrators alike, especially since the line between those two parties is often blurred. The Love Has Won cult was one of the first cults I saw dissolve in real time on the news so I was especially interested to learn about its origins and belief systems, as I really only knew about how it ended. I especially liked how Sottile framed the Love Has Won story within a history of New Age subcultures and cults in America, revealing a throughline of nationalist (and often homophobic, sexist, xenophobic, and racist) fringe beliefs all the way back to Lemuria that I hadn't considered but that honestly answered a lot of my questions of "why does this keep happening?" If you've ever wondered where the basis for the anti-vaxxer and crunchy-to-white-supremacist pipeline came from or if you just want to read a compassionate examination of how a cult came to be, this is the book for you.
I haven't consumed much true crime/nonfiction in general in the past few years because I was tired of how disrespectful authors, podcasters, and showrunners were to the folks involved. Sottile threaded the needle between calling out heinous behavior and showing compassion for the victims and perpetrators alike, especially since the line between those two parties is often blurred. The Love Has Won cult was one of the first cults I saw dissolve in real time on the news so I was especially interested to learn about its origins and belief systems, as I really only knew about how it ended. I especially liked how Sottile framed the Love Has Won story within a history of New Age subcultures and cults in America, revealing a throughline of nationalist (and often homophobic, sexist, xenophobic, and racist) fringe beliefs all the way back to Lemuria that I hadn't considered but that honestly answered a lot of my questions of "why does this keep happening?" If you've ever wondered where the basis for the anti-vaxxer and crunchy-to-white-supremacist pipeline came from or if you just want to read a compassionate examination of how a cult came to be, this is the book for you.
March 5, 2025
Blazing Eye Sees All takes the following of Amy Carlson and connects it to numerous other areas of New Age Spiritualism. Honestly sounded great, but it wasn't organized in a way I could easily follow. Things felt shoehorned in to places where they didn't belong, and the rise of Love Has Won felt rushed. I already had a background of this group through the HBO documentary (highly recommend), and this didn't keep me very interested despite the story being so incredibly out of this world (I had to).
The audio was great, I think I got further along because I was listening to the audio rather than reading. The narrator was very good.
Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The audio was great, I think I got further along because I was listening to the audio rather than reading. The narrator was very good.
Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 6, 2025
I started reading this because all this talk of “abundance” electorally was giving me a distinctly New Age/prosperity gospel vibe and man was I right!
Because I generally have a sort of pet fascination with religion and enjoy a lot of spooky stuff I’ve absorbed a lottt of cult knowledge, so this was an interesting read. It unpacks some social context, particularly through the lens of the modern New Age movement, of the sad, bizarre saga of Amy Carlson and Love Has Won. I had already watched the HBO series prior to reading this, but that didn’t preclude my enjoyment of the book. I wish there had been a better look into /why/ marginalized folks are drawn to New Age ideologies, though. There’s an engagement with the fact that women are drawn to New Age, one explicit reference to a queer person, a few people of color mentioned but the astrology bisexuals etc tell me that surely it must be deeper — especially since so many New Age movements are appropriative of of non-Western religions, so many are rigidly heteronormative, entrenched in antisemitism etc, but also tbh lots have just really weird gender stuff going on (Ramtha??). But maybe that’s a different book.
Also wanted to see more engagement with why LHW took off during COVID in particular and the passage about literal lemurs kind of lost me. Still compulsively readable, especially the fascinating interviews with Amy’s real-life children and the links Sottile draws between LHW and other fringe religious sects (Rajneeshpuram, Church Universal and Triumphant).
Because I generally have a sort of pet fascination with religion and enjoy a lot of spooky stuff I’ve absorbed a lottt of cult knowledge, so this was an interesting read. It unpacks some social context, particularly through the lens of the modern New Age movement, of the sad, bizarre saga of Amy Carlson and Love Has Won. I had already watched the HBO series prior to reading this, but that didn’t preclude my enjoyment of the book. I wish there had been a better look into /why/ marginalized folks are drawn to New Age ideologies, though. There’s an engagement with the fact that women are drawn to New Age, one explicit reference to a queer person, a few people of color mentioned but the astrology bisexuals etc tell me that surely it must be deeper — especially since so many New Age movements are appropriative of of non-Western religions, so many are rigidly heteronormative, entrenched in antisemitism etc, but also tbh lots have just really weird gender stuff going on (Ramtha??). But maybe that’s a different book.
Also wanted to see more engagement with why LHW took off during COVID in particular and the passage about literal lemurs kind of lost me. Still compulsively readable, especially the fascinating interviews with Amy’s real-life children and the links Sottile draws between LHW and other fringe religious sects (Rajneeshpuram, Church Universal and Triumphant).
August 7, 2025
Blazing Eye Sees All is a well-researched account of Amy Carlson and the Love Has Won cult that also weaves in histories of American spiritualism and other women-led cult groups. If you've read a lot on this topic, much of the info won't be new - she covers the Fox Sisters, Helena Blavatsky and JZ Knight, among others. Sometimes it felt a little tangential, as the author drifted into discussion of lemurs (relevant to the story via the legend of Lemuria but probably could've used less lemur content) and tarot cards. I think it could have been edited down, subtitle included. The author narrates the audiobook, so thumbs up there. Final verdict: informative and clear exploration of the wavering line between delusion and belief.
July 20, 2025
There's two types of avid lady readers: romantasy bingers and those of us obsessed with anything murdery scammy culty. My burning need to read this book--and rewatch the HBO documentary series which is so much more frightful (and blue) than I remembered--has me firmly (and proudly) in the latter camp. I loved this, will happily buy it in pb, am annoyed to become an armchair expert on Lori Vallow Daybell because I'm definitely reading Sottile's previous book about that madness even though I already read a trash-tastic John Glatt book on it.
Sottile casts a wide, deep net, and what a treat to read about the Fox sisters and Madame Blavatsky alongside the self-help boom of the 80s, Ascended Masters, and--spoilers--actual lemurs. Fascinating and easily my favorite nonfiction read of 2025.
Sottile casts a wide, deep net, and what a treat to read about the Fox sisters and Madame Blavatsky alongside the self-help boom of the 80s, Ascended Masters, and--spoilers--actual lemurs. Fascinating and easily my favorite nonfiction read of 2025.
May 16, 2025
4.5/5 Been waiting on a book on this subject for awhile now and throughly enjoyed sottile's writing style. My TBR list expanded dramatically after putting this one down but thats not necessarily a bad thing
August 25, 2025
There were a few moments where I would zone out and zone back in and be like - wait why are we talking about lemurs? lol But overall a very well researched, well written narrative of all things New Age and cults.
November 4, 2025
Do you experience reality in 124D? Is your vision of chicken parmesan or meatballs? In order to rule men, is it necessary to deceive them? To meet the one who’s Mother God to all but her own kids and find out what happens when your own poison is force-fed back to you, check out Blazing Eye Sees All, journalist and podcast host Leah Sottile’s investigation of the American New Age movement. Stuff your pockets full of crystals, pack your bags for Mount Shasta, and ask yourself what’s infinite and what is merely deep.
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May 4, 2025A lot of overlap with the HBO documentary
September 28, 2025
"if you're going to read a book about fringe subcultures and religious extremism in the american west it should be by leah sottile" example number 2
August 20, 2025
Let’s just say I’m proud to have climbed to the top of Mt Shasta, but now I feel like distancing myself from Lemuria.
“New Age ideas have had a long-standing appeal to women. Dreams and emotions are not discarded, but studied. It is a world where women are not followers, but leaders, acting as gurus, mystics, living goddesses.”
“New Age ideas have had a long-standing appeal to women. Dreams and emotions are not discarded, but studied. It is a world where women are not followers, but leaders, acting as gurus, mystics, living goddesses.”
December 24, 2025
This book gave me the confidence that if I start a cult, I will get at least ten followers.
Like this review to reach enlightenment!
Like it twice if you want a direct line to a blue-skinned god!
Like this review to reach enlightenment!
Like it twice if you want a direct line to a blue-skinned god!
February 7, 2025
Thank you to NEtGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!
This is a fantastic write up not only of the Love Has One/Mother God cult, but also of a history of the American New Age movement going all the way back to spiritualism and Madame Blavatsky, and showing the stark connections to White Supremacy and the modern alt right movement. As someone who has been deeply fascinated and horrified by QAnon/pastel QAnon and how it indoctrinates people though various means, and I really liked the way Sottile linked it all together to American New Age practices and influencers. Really scary stuff but super relevant, unfortunately. Definitely a must read if you are interested in cults and spiritual abuse and manipulation.
This is a fantastic write up not only of the Love Has One/Mother God cult, but also of a history of the American New Age movement going all the way back to spiritualism and Madame Blavatsky, and showing the stark connections to White Supremacy and the modern alt right movement. As someone who has been deeply fascinated and horrified by QAnon/pastel QAnon and how it indoctrinates people though various means, and I really liked the way Sottile linked it all together to American New Age practices and influencers. Really scary stuff but super relevant, unfortunately. Definitely a must read if you are interested in cults and spiritual abuse and manipulation.
April 5, 2025
Cult stories are my catnip, and this book didn't disappoint. Well researched, Sottile explores the contextual roots of the super-fucked up, super-online cult Love Has Won in America's homegrown obsessions with spiritualism, anti-semitism, and populist religions that have given certain women power over the minds and pocketbooks of a populace yearning for transcendence. I was especially impressed with her research into the persistent dream of Lemuria, and how she even brought real lemurs into it!
November 25, 2025
really fun to consume a book by a local female journalist about cults in my region!!! was very impressed by her endless hours of research. thought it was slightly too biased if she is a journalist.
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