As the title of this post suggests, I have recently found myself drawn to cults. Not necessarily to the more gruesome aspects, but certainly the psychology that attracts people to these groups. Before going too far, I should probably define what I mean by a cult.
Here’s what Merriam-Webster had to say on the topic:
Cult, which shares an origin with culture and cultivate, comes from the Latin cultus, a noun with meanings ranging from “tilling, cultivation” to “training or education” to “adoration.” In English, cult has evolved a number of meanings following a fairly logical path. The earliest known uses of the word, recorded in the 17th century, broadly denoted “worship.” From here cult came to refer to a specific branch of a religion or the rites and practices of that branch, as in “the cult of Dionysus.” By the early 18th century, cult could refer to a non-religious admiration or devotion, such as to a person, idea, or fad (“the cult of success”). Finally, by the 19th century, the word came to be used of “a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious.”
Perhaps the main reason for my fascination is research. As I was finishing up edits for book two in my Ezra James Series the idea for a new book came to me.
We were taking a family trip to Hays to see the Sternberg Museum of Natural History. I had taken my wife and three kiddos out to breakfast and when I went to pay, the waitress informed me that someone had paid for our meal. It was a very Ramona Quimby, Age 8 moment. As I was going through something of a spiritual crisis at the time, it was especially touching. I couldn’t help put imagine the person as an older gentleman or woman fresh from church, including my family in their Christian charity.
We went on to the museum, full of fossils, some half a billion years old, and I wrestled with these ideas: the lovely principles I’d been raised to embody and the cold, hard scientific facts of the universe that challenged them. In this maelstrom, a voice came to me, the voice of a recent convert to a cult I had just made up in my mind. From the few pages I jotted down in that POV was born the plot of the third book in my series.
One of the fun things about writing books is doing research. Yes, you read that correctly. Though it can be time-consuming and full of false trails, hours seemingly wasted exploring a subplot that then gets cut from the book, I happen to enjoy learning large swaths of information about random subjects. (What better ammunition to bring into dinner parties and bogart/end all conversation?) In the course of writing this new installment of Ezra, Lucia, and Remy, I’ve had the chance to read/listen/watch a ton about cults, and I thought I’d relate some of my picks and skips.
PODCASTS
Pick: “Cults” by Parcast, episode “Rajneeshpuram – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh”
Prophesied to die young and surviving near-death-experiences, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh felt discomfort with his own mortality from a young age. Over time, his spiritual studies and strong beliefs about capitalism and sexuality led
This one is wild, including a charismatic leader who stockpiled Rolls Royces and bioterrorism attack on a town’s salad bars.
Skip: “IndoctriNation” by Rachel Bernstein
Welcome to IndoctriNation: A weekly podcast covering cults, manipulators, and protecting yourself from systems of control.
It became clear pretty quick that the host was raised as a Scientology. A lot of the episodes are Scientology-specific and it definitely gave her a grave skepticism toward all religions.
Just Fun: “Sounds Like a Cult” by writers Amanda Montell (linguist) & Isabela Medina-Maté (comedian and actor) episode “The Cult of Goop”
We’ve all joked about Gwyneth Paltrow’s *candle.* But does this boho Hollywood elitist girlboss ever go too far? (As in, cult leader far?)
This one was so strange. I don’t think Goop could be any stranger than if it were a parody of itself (which it might be).
NONFICTION BOOKS
Pick: Cults by Max Cutler
Mystery. Manipulation. Murder. Cults are associated with all of these. But what really goes on inside them? More specifically, what goes on inside the minds of cult leaders and the people who join them?
Not for the faint of heart. This one doesn’t pull punches about the atrocities of some groups. Ant Hill Kids. That’s all I’ll say.
Skip: Don’t Call It a Cult by Sarah Berman
They draw you in with the promise of empowerment, self-discovery, women helping women. The more secretive those connections are, the more exclusive you feel. Little did you know, you just joined a cult.
I don’t know what about this one disturbed me so much. It was definitely the most suburban of the groups, but they still went to some dark places. There’s a reason Keith Raniere will never see the outside of a prison.
Just for Fun: Cultish by Amanda Montell
The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.
A fun look at the cults we’re all apart of and how insider-language creates community, sometimes with disastrous results.
FICTION BOOKS
Pick: The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
What if―whoosh, right now, with no explanation―a number of us simply vanished? Would some of us collapse? Would others of us go on, one foot in front of the other, as we did before the world turned upside down?That’s what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, who lost many of their neighbors, friends and lovers in the event known as the Sudden Departure, have to figure out.
What I found interesting about Perrotta’s novel were the variety of new religious groups that arose from the catastrophe, one that embraces free love, another that rejects all love, one that eschews shoes, another that smokes, not for pleasure but as an assertion that the world is ending.
Skip: The Girls by Emma Cline
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.
What this lacks in plot and genuine characterization it more than makes up for with overwrought stylization of literally every action, description, scrap of internal monologue.
Just for Fun: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.
I love how Moriarty handles different POVs. She always manages to create tension without it feeling forced, and never has a flat character.
RECOMMENDATIONS?
Have some podcasts, books, shows I need to check out? Drop them in the comments!
Steven J Kolbe 