Lindsay

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Lindsay is Currently Reading

Lindsay is currently reading

Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)

by Martha Wells (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in January 2022

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Lindsay said: " Well. This was interesting. For whatever reason, Libby doesn’t offer the first four novellas, so if I wanted to know about Murderbot, and I very much did, I had no choice but to jump directly into this, its first full-length novel Network Effect, aka ...more "

Jan 15, 2022 08:45AM · see review

Lindsay is currently reading

The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike, #7)

by Robert Galbraith

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Reading for the 3rd time

read in July 2024

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Lindsay said: " Brilliant. Five million stars. This may be the single best fiction book about a (fictional) cult I’ve ever read. Author Robert Galbraith, aka JK Rowling, hits the nail on the head in so many ways. And I should know, as the Co-Chair of the nonprofit L Brilliant. Five million stars. This may be the single best fiction book about a (fictional) cult I’ve ever read. Author Robert Galbraith, aka JK Rowling, hits the nail on the head in so many ways. And I should know, as the Co-Chair of the nonprofit Living Cult Free: www.livingcultfree.com. She points out:

- Who and why people join cults: Victims are seekers, idealists, intellectually inquiring folks. People who want to make the world a better place. Being clever is no protection — in fact, it makes you a target. (Couch potatoes aren’t in cults for a reason.) People have no idea they will cede total control or indeed that total control is the cult’s end game.

- How cults are able to take total control: Indoctrination happens little by little, step by step. First, victims are love bombed, then they are torn down through coercive control — through food restriction, sleep deprivation, enforced behavior, a unifying ideology and language that only other cult victims understand (thereby setting them apart), rigid control over their physical environment, a cruel system of punishment that forces other victims to ignore/collude in heinous acts, etc.

- The personalities within cults: At the apex of every cult is a charismatic malignant narcissist. The character in the book, Jonathan Wace, is a perfect example. (I LOVE that he flees to Mexico, a la Keith Raniere of NXIVM. Though Keith was a small dumpy guy and by no means handsome like Wace, he had all his charisma.) The narcissist has created a cult of personality, and is surrounded by true believers and sycophants, further heightening his credibility and influence. Narcissists target wealthy and famous people to extend their reach and heighten their appeal.

- Why people stay in cults/why it’s so hard to leave: They stay because they are indoctrinated, of course, and and when you’re in that kind of controlling environment it’s nearly impossible to think critically. Indeed the cult’s purpose is to wear people down so they can’t. Even when doubt does creep in, it’s incredibly easy to justify every decision and action. Cults reward conformity and punishes critical thinking. Most cult survivors talk about “waking up,” because living in a cult is exactly like that — your true self is asleep. Your subconscious is constantly under assault. It’s hard to leave because of one word: safety. Victims stay because they fear for their/their loved ones/the world’s safety. The cult tells them, over and over, every single day, that the cult has all the answers; horrible things are happening to those who aren’t involved. Cults force people to cut ties with their loved ones on “the outside,” so many have no safety net when they leave, and for those who are born into it or join early lack core education and financial skills. They don’t know who they can trust — they don’t even trust themselves. And victims are forced to do unspeakable things. The feelings of shame and guilt are real and insidious. Knowing all that, can you envision the extreme courage and bravery and determination it takes to leave a cult? Most cult survivors I’ve met are beyond extraordinary. (Some are, sadly, highly narcissistic and unstable and abusive. After all, hurt people hurt people.)

- Best of all, Galbraith/Rowling cites two books that are truly foundational and remarkable for their insight and clarity: Robert J Lifton’s “Thought Reform,” and Steven Hassan’s “Combatting Cult Mind Control.” I know Dr. Hassan personally and he is brilliant. His BITE model — that cults control Behavior, Information, Thoughts, and Emotions — has forever changed how the world understands cults.

All in all, there is just so much good about this book. I can’t think of one bad thing. I love Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, together and apart; I love their dynamic and their slow burning chemistry. I love how they take on the church. A million snaps.

Highly, highly, highly recommend!! ...more "

Jul 21, 2024 07:29PM · see review