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linkamarisa's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Minor: Body shaming, Misogyny, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, and Suicide
parkerluck's review
3.75
The shift to modern groups lost me a little, especially since the author seemed to fall back on just... giving examples of language (ie: here's a fitness slogan!) without much analysis. I read another review that pointed out how skewed these sections were towards women-dominated spheres (or at that the author equated with women) like yoga, wellness influencers, etc. which I also noticed. There was almost a condescending tone to these portions, and we spent a lot of time talking about things/women the author finds cringy (we get it, you live in LA! Lots of yoga studios! Lululemon!) vs. dangerous groups that are a lot more cult-adjacent (QAnon, Incel culture etc). The conspiracy theory stuff in particular felt extremely surface level and tacked on after spending so long on the fitness and wellness sphere.
I did find the comparisons between cult language/beliefs and early Protestantism, (and how those are baked into American culture) quite interesting! The section connecting the dots between that belief system, MLMs, and American politics was also a very informative ride for me personally.
Overall, the book is at its best when actually focusing on real cults, language and what makes people susceptible to indoctrination. The more "formal" aspects are much more engaging, and I wish we had gotten a bit more of an in depth linguistic examination. I understand the temptation to write for a more general, pop culture obsessed audience, but it ended up losing focus and spinning out on that effort.
Would still recommend, especially to people looking for a quick and accessible intro to these topics.
Minor: Classism, Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Suicide, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Racism
laurenkimoto's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Toxic friendship, Murder, Blood, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Suicide attempt
narpetcards's review
4.75
Moderate: Gaslighting and Bullying
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, and Suicide
catrickbateman's review against another edition
3.5
really enjoyed the first half, the cults such as jonestown, heavens gate, 3ho and more were fascinating and hearing a different take on them through linguistics was refreshing but past that the exercise “cults” and MLM schemes became repetitive and didn’t seem to offer any new information or viewpoints. also struggled with how often the author says “more on this later” and there is actually very rarely more on it further in the book? overall an interesting sociological read/listen, but if you are already clued up on cults and MLM schemes you could give it a miss
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Body shaming
clawsandjaws's review
4.5
With cited sources and plenty of references that allow insight to the thoughts that celebrities, scientists, politicians, etc. subscribe to.
This book ultimately is more of a reminder that language is a powerful tool and it's within the best interest of everyone to pay closer attention to the way language is used today. Especially today.
Graphic: Gaslighting and Bullying
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Suicide, Classism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Racism
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
bootsmom3's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Child death, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Body shaming, Death, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol
kerttuli's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Mental illness and Bullying
taelights's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Child death, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Violence, Body shaming, Suicide, and Sexual harassment