Escaping utopia : growing up in a cult, getting out, and starting over / Janja Lalich and Karla McLaren.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lalich, Janja, author.

McLaren, Karla, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cults--Biography.

Cults.

Control (Psychology)--Religious aspects.

Control (Psychology).

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 170 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Routledge, 2018.

Summary:

Actor Glenn Close. Humorist Garrison Keillor. Musician Lisa Marie Presley. Actor Leah Remini. Singer Toni Braxton. The late actor River Phoenix. Each of these well-known people has more than fame in common; each was born or raised in a cult. Many of us think of cults as bizarre groups that only strange people inhabit, but in truth, cults are not unusual at all-and the social pressures and controlling structures that create cults exist (to some degree) in every human relationship and every human group. Cult behavior is human behavior-and by studying cults, we can learn remarkably useful things about the world and our place in it. In Escaping Utopia, Janja Lalich and Karla McLaren (both cult survivors) explore the life stories of sixty-five people who were born in or grew up in thirty-nine different cults spanning more than a dozen countries. This original research explores fundamental questions about human naturo, human development group dynamics, abuse and control, and triumphs of the human spirit in the face of extended suffering. The lessons we can learn from these cult survivors can inform and protect each of us-so that cultic groups cannot gain influence over us or our loved ones. Book jacket.

Contents:

Acknowledgements

Introduction

We weren't there by choice : meeting our narrators

The transcendent belief system : purity, perfection, and the eradication of individuality

Charismatic authority : exhilarating vision, electrifying charisma, and total domination

Systems of control : official rules, formal structures, and webs of authority

Systems of influence : social pressures, rigid expectations, and constant manipulation

Landing on Mars : finding their way in an alien world

Surviving and thriving: trauma, resilience, and integration

Appendices

A. Research methodology

B. Print and multi-media resources

Informational and resource websites

Influence methods that support a behavioral-control system

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Lalich, Janja, author. Escaping utopia

ISBN:

9781138239739

1138239739

9781138239746

1138239747

OCLC:

978970807