What do you think?
Rate this book
Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from the Terrifying Cult Nxivm
Including a new afterword, Captive is an emotional, ripped-from-the-headlines exposé that lays bare the inner workings of the secretive NXIVM cult that shocked the world.
I am a mother whose child is being abused and exploited. And I am not alone.
In 2011, former Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg joined her daughter, India, at a leadership seminar for a new organization called NXIVM. Her then twenty-year-old daughter was on the threshold of starting her own professional life and they both thought this program might help her achieve her dream. But quickly, Catherine saw a sinister side to the program that claimed to simply want to help its clients become the best versions of themselves.
Catherine watched in horror as her daughter fell further and further down the rabbit hole, falling under the spell of NXIVM's hypnotic leader, Keith Raniere. Despite Catherine’s best efforts, India was drawn deeper into the cult, eventually joining an elite “sorority” of women members who were ordered to maintain a restricted diet, recruit other women as “slaves,” and were branded with their leader’s initials.
In Captive, Catherine shares every parent’s worst nightmare, and the lengths that a mother will go to save her child. Catherine’s efforts finally led the FBI to take notice—and the journey is not yet over. A powerful depiction of a mother’s love and determination, and with horrifying insider details never revealed in any news story, Captive will keep you reading until the very last page.
I am a mother whose child is being abused and exploited. And I am not alone.
In 2011, former Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg joined her daughter, India, at a leadership seminar for a new organization called NXIVM. Her then twenty-year-old daughter was on the threshold of starting her own professional life and they both thought this program might help her achieve her dream. But quickly, Catherine saw a sinister side to the program that claimed to simply want to help its clients become the best versions of themselves.
Catherine watched in horror as her daughter fell further and further down the rabbit hole, falling under the spell of NXIVM's hypnotic leader, Keith Raniere. Despite Catherine’s best efforts, India was drawn deeper into the cult, eventually joining an elite “sorority” of women members who were ordered to maintain a restricted diet, recruit other women as “slaves,” and were branded with their leader’s initials.
In Captive, Catherine shares every parent’s worst nightmare, and the lengths that a mother will go to save her child. Catherine’s efforts finally led the FBI to take notice—and the journey is not yet over. A powerful depiction of a mother’s love and determination, and with horrifying insider details never revealed in any news story, Captive will keep you reading until the very last page.
Audible Audio
Published August 7, 2018
8 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Oxenberg
4 books11 followersCatherine Oxenberg is an American actress of Serbian origin. Best known for her performance as Amanda Carrington on the 1980s prime-time soap opera Dynasty. She is the daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 30, 2025
A mother’s unending love for her daughter, India, and how she loses her to a cult, NXIVM, led by Keith Reinstar..
She tries for years to get her to come home.
Finally, when Keith flees to Mexico, she gets the FBI involved and some of the former cult members who have left, to investigate Keith.
He has a spell on women and brands them with initials, has a sex trafficking industry, and masters and slaves mentality. Money has been extorted from members. Mostly funded by billionaires heiresses to Seagrams!
A harrowing story with shocking details about the cult exposed by the author.
She tries for years to get her to come home.
Finally, when Keith flees to Mexico, she gets the FBI involved and some of the former cult members who have left, to investigate Keith.
He has a spell on women and brands them with initials, has a sex trafficking industry, and masters and slaves mentality. Money has been extorted from members. Mostly funded by billionaires heiresses to Seagrams!
A harrowing story with shocking details about the cult exposed by the author.
January 16, 2026
Äänikirja.
Paljon nimenomaan tästä kultista lukeneena ja nähneenä kirja jäi aika valjuksi. Toisaalta tarinahan oli nimenomaan äidin näkökulma kaikkeen, mutta usein tuli vain sellainen olo, että B-luokan näyttelijä keskittyi enemmän julkkisten nimien ja Hallmark-elokuvien esiin tuomiseen. Vähän plääh.
Paljon nimenomaan tästä kultista lukeneena ja nähneenä kirja jäi aika valjuksi. Toisaalta tarinahan oli nimenomaan äidin näkökulma kaikkeen, mutta usein tuli vain sellainen olo, että B-luokan näyttelijä keskittyi enemmän julkkisten nimien ja Hallmark-elokuvien esiin tuomiseen. Vähän plääh.
December 20, 2025
Tähän oli mahdoton samaistua, sen verran Amerikkaa oli meno. Jotenkin tuntui, että kultti vilahti lukupiiristä väkivaltaisiin orjamarkkinoihin suunnilleen yhdessä yössä, enkä voi väittää saaneeni juurikaan ymmärrystä siitä, miksi näin tapahtui. Äidin näkökulma nousi tietysti kirkkaasti.
December 24, 2025
What a story!!! Even the cover of the book is gripping.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews