Girls In The Cult

THE INSTANT BESTSELLER • An indelible portrait of girls, the women they become, and that moment in life when everything can go horribly wrong ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, Financial Times, Esquire, Newsweek, Vogue, Glamour, People, The Huffington Post, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Time Out, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, Slate Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence. Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award • Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize • The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • Emma Cline—One of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists Praise for The Girls “Spellbinding . . . a seductive and arresting coming-of-age story.”—The New York Times Book Review “Extraordinary . . . Debut novels like this are rare, indeed.”—The Washington Post “Hypnotic.”—The Wall Street Journal “Gorgeous.”—Los Angeles Times “Savage.”—The Guardian “Astonishing.”—The Boston Globe “Superbly written.”—James Wood, The New Yorker “Intensely consuming.”—Richard Ford “A spectacular achievement.”—Lucy Atkins, The Times “Thrilling.”—Jennifer Egan “Compelling and startling.”—The Economist

Girls in the Cult is a journey into understanding the Old Order Mennonite religion. The book provides answers for "free thinkers" who ask: Why would people of a religion systematically program their children to fear the outside world? Why would the people of a religion limit a child's education to eighth grade? Why would people of a religion make their members live in the past? What could prominent Dr. Erik Erikson and his "Eight Stages in Life" say about the people of my childhood religion? How does the Amish in the City television show fit into this book? Girls in the Cult is a first-hand account of my Old Order Mennonite childhood. As a little girl, I asked my mother who I was. Her reply that we were just pilgrims passing through this world on our way to our heavenly home didn't satisfy me. Years later I searched to learn the answer, which comprises this book. My surprising self-discovery is told with clarity, honesty, and in good old-fashioned storytelling.

Written by a cult survivor and renowned expert on cults and totalitarianism, Terror, Love and Brainwashing draws on the author’s 25 years of study and research to explain how almost anyone, given the right set of circumstances, can be radically manipulated to engage in otherwise incomprehensible and often dangerous acts. Illustrated with compelling stories from a range of cults and totalitarian systems, from religious to political to commercial, the book defines and analyses the common and identifiable traits that underlie almost all these groups. It focuses on how charismatic, authoritarian leaders control their followers’ attachment relationships via manipulative social structures and ideologies so that, emotionally and cognitively isolated, they become unable to act in their own survival interests. Using the evolutionary theory of attachment to demonstrate the psychological impact of these environments, and incorporating the latest neuroscientific findings, Stein illustrates how the combined dynamic of terror and ‘love’ works to break down people’s ability to think and behave rationally. From small local cults to global players like ISIS and North Korea, the impact of these movements is widespread and growing. This important book offers clarity and a unique perspective on the dynamics of these systems of control, and concludes with guidance to foster greater awareness and prevention. It will be essential reading for mental health professionals in the field, as well as policy makers, legal professionals, cult survivors, and their families, as well as anyone with an interest in these disturbing groups. Students of social and developmental psychology will also find it fascinating.

Cult Girls based on a true story, tells the story of Talia and her friends as they struggle with growing suspicions that their faith is a patriarchal religious cult. It's a story of tremendous courage and female empowerment as Talia as her friends successfully free themselves told through a feminist lens with cautionary humor. Talia discusses the adversity faced as a young female raised in a cult that values its men over its women, meanwhile trying to find herself in the middle of several peer pressures. Rosa talks about how she was forced into a loveless marriage and struggles to find the means to escape. Sandy and Rochelle hope to fade out of their elder's attention while still trying to maintain a successful marriage. These four women were born, raised and married in the cult and they each have a different path consisting of their own individual passions, desires and goals. Cult Girls has an educational backdrop of the harsh treatment that these peculiar individuals knocking on your door don't want you to know. It lightly touches on their shunning policies, lack of acknowledgment of modern medicine, and training its members to be martyrs that sacrifice their families, as well as an aversion to education and political processes. The healing journey is the discovery that there is hope for a better world, by realizing with their feminine energy they can make a change for the better in each a unique way.

Can you ever escape your childhood?

Four best friends, a pact with dark powers, and the ultimate revenge. From author Kristen S. Walker comes a young adult paranormal thriller for fans of My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix and The Babysitters Coven by Kate M. Williams. Something dark lurks in the woods. She started using witchcraft with her friends as a game, a way to vent her frustrations. But dark magic answered their call. Terrible things happen to the people Katie hates, and she’s not sure if she is responsible. Katie is thirteen years old and in the seventh grade. She just wants to focus on schoolwork and band practice. But after she broke up with her boyfriend, he spread nasty rumors about her, and now she’s being targeted by bullies. Does witchcraft really work? Could it give Katie the answer to her problems? Time to take power and get revenge. Set in the late 90s, this paranormal thriller follows a group of teen girls in the Santa Cruz mountains of California. If you love rebel girls, witchcraft, 90s nostalgia, revenge on ex-boyfriends, and female friends, put on your favorite music from the 90s and read the 90s Girl Cult series!

The cult is growing. From author Kristen S. Walker comes a young adult paranormal thriller for fans of My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix and The Babysitters Coven by Kate M. Williams. Katie is in more trouble than ever. She swore off using witchcraft after one of her curses went too far, but now magic might be the only thing that can save her. After her eighth grade formal dance ends in disaster, Katie is accused of stealing another girl’s boyfriend, and her rival is out to get her own revenge. She recruits new members of the coven to boost her power—including the first boy. But the other girls have doubts if a boy could understand their problems or become a witch. Katie must walk a fine line to keep the harmony in her secret group. Now that they’re going online, the coven can coordinate their efforts more than ever before. But will it be enough to save Katie from the hatred of her worst enemy? Fight fire with fire and see who ends up burned. Set in the late 90s, this paranormal thriller follows a group of teen girls in the Santa Cruz mountains of California. If you love rebel girls, witchcraft, 90s nostalgia, revenge on ex-boyfriends, and female friends, put on your favorite music from the 90s and read the 90s Girl Cult series!

**THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED SACRED LIES, NOW STREAMING ON FACEBOOK WATCH** A Morris Award finalist and Golden Kite Honor Book! A hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith—and the power of having faith in yourself. The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust. And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too. Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something—but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past. Gorgeously written, breathlessly page-turning and sprinkled with moments of unexpected humor, this harrowing debut is perfect for readers of Emily Murdoch's If You Find Me and Nova Ren Suma's The Walls Around Us, as well as for fans of Orange is the New Black.