Showing titles in Cults

When Misty was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where they were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community where they were adopted and became baptized members. Misty was devastated to once again find herself in a world of fear, animal cruelty, and sexual abuse.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join - and more importantly, stay in - extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has.

Behind the tall, foreboding gates of a commune in Brazil, Daniella Mestyanek Young was raised in the religious cult The Children of God, also known as The Family, as the daughter of high-ranking members. Her great-grandmother donated land for one of The Family’s first communes in Texas. Her mother, at thirteen, was forced to marry the leader and served as his secretary for many years. Beholden to The Family’s strict rules, Daniella suffers physical, emotional, and sexual abuse—masked as godly discipline and divine love—and is forbidden from getting a traditional education.

Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles—a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, “keepers of the home.” A Well-Trained Wife is an unforgettable memoir about a woman's race to save herself and her family and details the ways that extreme views can manifest in a marriage.

William Branham was an influential Pentecostal minister of the mid-20th century who began a cult following known as The Message. This ground breaking book examines the history of The Message movement in the years after Branham's death.

WINNER Spring 2024 PenCraft Best Book Award - Memoir FINALIST 2024 National Indie Excellence Awards - Relationships FINALIST 2024 Independent Author Network Best Book Awards - True Story HONORABLE MENTION 2024 Readers' Favorite Book Award - Religion/Philosophy His yoga focused on control and manipulation. Until she broke the sequence. The Secret Practice is the shocking true story of Joelle Tamraz's 18-year ordeal under the control of a master manipulator. For fans of Netflix’s Bikram, Tara Westover’s Educated, and Megan Phelps-Roper’s Unfollow. 'Phenomenal.' —Daniella Mestyanek ...

A very large proportion of objections brought against the Bible stem from totally wrong interpretations. There are thousands of passages that have been misinterpreted because of cultural, linguistic, or philosophical reasons. All these errors can be divided into less than a dozen major types of errors. If you have been confronted with difficulties in your own reading, or when someone brought an objection against the Bible, here the book that you need. It explains in a very simple manner, but in an accurate way, the common errors which produce the bulk of the problem. More than 50,000 copies...

For over half a century, Banco Popular was one of the most profitable banks in the world—until one day, in 2017, when the Spanish bank suddenly collapsed overnight. When investigative journalist Gareth Gore was dispatched to report on the story, he expected to find yet another case of unbridled capitalist ambition gone wrong. Instead, he uncovered decades of deception that hid one of the most brazen cases of corporate pillaging in history, perpetrated by a group of men sworn to celibacy and self-flagellation who had secretly controlled Popular and abused their positions there.

Shunned follows Linda as she steps into a world she was taught to fear and discovers what is possible when we stay true to our hearts, even when it means disappointing those we love.

I have been an Occult researcher for 50 years, and have directly interacted with dozens of individuals experiencing demonic possession. Rather than attempting to exorcise them, I would sit down and have a drink with them, asking questions and letting them tell their side of the story. I remain friends with some of them, even was married to one for a decade. I learned more from those conversations than I could've ever learned from any book.

Part memoir, part masterclass, bestselling author Ben Crawford's journey is about breaking free from fear, ineffective communication, and shallow relationships entrenched within religious communities. Excommunicated and starting anew without a community or belief system, he shares lessons from his transition, bidding farewell to old friends, forging new connections, and rebuilding relationships with his wife and children.

Despite considerable press coverage and a lengthy trial, the full story of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints has remained largely untold. Only one man can reveal the whole, astounding truth: Sam Brower, the private investigator who devoted years of his life to breaking open the secret practices of the FLDS and bringing Warren Jeffs and his inner circle to justice.

Beware, dear seekers of forbidden knowledge, for within the pages of this ancient tome lies a twisted labyrinth that dares to push the boundaries of mortal comprehension. Much is learned, but more is sacrificed in this wretched dance with demons' dark dominion. In shadowy whispers, long forgotten masters of the occult weave their tales of magicks that promise power beyond measure, yet, dear readers, I forewarn you: the cost shall forever haunt your very existence. Within these secret incantations, one unveils rituals that summon infernal forces from the abyss. Every step, every word must be...

An in-depth look into the creation of the post-WWII Healing Revival focusing on the historical perspective of William Marrion Branham, who has been credited by some as the evangelist who both initiated and led the movement. From his involvement with the Kardashian family in California to his politically-charged sermons supporting the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, William Branham lived a fascinating and unbelievable history connected to the collaboration, influence, and power of recognized public figures and events in American history.

In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially mixed, and he was a leader in the early civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California, where he got involved in electoral politics and became a prominent Bay Area leader. But underneath the surface lurked a terrible darkness.

As an 18-year-old on a gap year in Canberra, Liz Cameron was approached at a shopping centre by a woman who, unbeknownst to her, was a recruiting agent for Providence, a Christian cult that originated in South Korea and currently operates in 72 countries. As a new adult, Cameron was struggling to navigate the world and her identity, and as cults do so skilfully, they took advantage of her vulnerability.

Wondering what it takes to be a Wiccan? This plain-English guide introduces you to the vibrant world of Wicca and the practices of Witchcraft, describing its ancient origins, dispelling stereotypes, and explaining Wiccan beliefs, ethics, rituals, and holidays. You'll see what it means to live as a contemporary Wiccan - and how to worship alone or with a group.

Grounded in investigative research and real survivor stories, Surviving Modern Yoga uncovers the physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by Ashtanga yoga leader Pattabhi Jois—and reckons with the culture, structures, and mythos that enabled it.

At age 14, Wendy Gossard was drawn by the tranquil blue eyes and personal magnetism of a man known as Yahowah, leader of a spiritual group called the Source Family. Fleeing her own family and becoming a fugitive from justice in the state of California, Wendy followed the 1970s cult group across settlements in California and Hawaii on a quest for spiritual direction, communal harmony, and basic survival. Growing up, the teenager, called Mushroom by Yahowah, had questions about her pregnancy, relationships, and place in the universe.