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courto875's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, Death, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
mengzhenreads's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault
cady_sass's review
5.0
In all seriousness this is EXPERTLY done and I’m blown away. I’ve always been drawn to cult history and I really, really appreciate the work the author did here to include “cultish” behavior (hence, the title) of non cult entities- MLMs, fitness & CrossFit culture, MAGA, etc.- along with the obvious identifiable cults like Jonestown, Heavens Gate, and Nxivm, among others.
Super important to give language to the behaviors and vernacular that are big red flags 🚩 so people can engage carefully and make informed decisions. Highly, highly recommend.
Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Sexism, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt
tender_onion's review
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, and Violence
dfbballinger's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, and Child abuse
concertconfetti's review against another edition
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
Actual harmful cults are discussed including the trauma involved. If you are a cult survivor, tread lightly - the book and author are kind and empathetic to cult survivors but the discussion of Jim Jones, Scientology, and Q Anon can get intense.elenatamsen's review
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Cultural appropriation, and Emotional abuse
eldritch_flower's review
5.0
This book does talk about some of the more well known cults to give foundation to the points Montell makes later in the book, but what I found most interesting was the parallels between those cults and the groups she brings up as "cultish" like MLMs and certain gym groups, and even some influencers.
The book has a heavy focus on language, which I'm sure you can gather from the title. The language of conversion is incredibly compelling and interesting.
But beyond that, the book is topical as it was written and released after June of 2020, so the anti-masker idiocy and QAnon bullshittery is also included in this with poignant commentary.
If you have ever had even a passing interest in learning about cults, it's worth the read. I definitely had fun with it and I feel like I came out of it with new knowledge(as someone who's been reading about cults for more than a decade, I think that's a pretty big feat).
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Drug use, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence
bxtskr's review
5.0
Minor: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse