Review of The Cult Next Door

[Stephanie Runyon]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Cult Next Door" by Elizabeth R. Burchard, Judith L. Carlone.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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What do the Manson Family, Branch Davidians, and People’s Temple all have in common? What could Charles Manson, Jim Jones, and David Koresh possess for the people who followed them? The Cult Next Door: A Manhattan Memoir delves into Elizabeth R. Burchard’s life as a member of a cult led by George Sharkman. Co-authored by Judith L Carlone, the reader gains insight on the start and finish of Liz’s life inside and outside of Sharkman’s therapy sessions.

The book is broken up into ten sections that describe how Liz progressed to seeking Sharkman. When Liz was three years old, her parents divorced and her mother, Rachael, began to focus her anger on Liz. When Liz’s father dies, Rachael begins to indulge in several treatments for her self-improvement, until she chooses biofeedback technician George Sharkman. She convinces Liz to start seeing Sharkman. Liz’s low self-esteem, loneliness, and depressive episodes made her vulnerable to Sharkman’s ploys of praise and affection. Eventually, every aspect of Liz’s life becomes dependent on her mentor’s approval. As more money and followers begin to attend Sharkman’s “stress reduction” therapy, Liz struggles to gain his recognition.

I enjoyed the formatting of this book. Every section outlines significant events that Liz goes through. The chronological order that she utilizes makes it easy to follow the progression of how therapy turned into a devoted group of followers. My favorite part of the book was when Liz was able to gain confidence in herself with a photography business that she had started. It took a lot of determination, and even when Sharkman required that Liz allow his daughter to help run the business, she never gave up on her dream. I also liked the discussion questions added at the end of the book.

There were a few issues that I had with some parts of the book. At one point, Liz had a relationship with Preston, but then he just disappears. I also wondered why Rachael decided to seek self-improvement therapies when she started to self-isolate from everyone. When one of the followers, Bess, defied Sharkman, she was beaten and everybody just sat there as the woman sat through therapy needing medical treatment should have been a revelation to leave.

The book contains only one typo and is exceptionally well edited. I am confident in rating this memoir a 4 out of 4 stars. While I had questions about how Sharkman was able to exploit so many people, this doesn’t negate giving a lower rating. The story details show how intense the manipulation Sharkman used on Liz and how difficult she found suppressing her true emotions were. The amount of money that Liz spent to attend her therapies was beyond what I have ever earned in a year. I would find it hard to turn a blind eye to a lot of the rule changes that Sharkman would employ.

I would recommend this book to people that are interested in learning what vulnerabilities can be exploited by “gurus.” This book debunks numerous myths about cults and their followers. I believe that this story would also be fundamental in counseling people that are wanting to eliminate their dependence upon being validated by an individual. The discussion questions would be a valuable learning tool as well.

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The Cult Next Door
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[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

I've always found it fascinating and sad how cult leaders seem to find their follower's weakest spots and exploit them. I'm adding this book to my TBR list! And I loved your comment on how this book could help people who seek constant validation and approval. It's a very interesting insight.
Great review!

[markodim721]

I like that the co-author found the courage to talk about her experience in the cult. Thanks for the good review.

[J Edwards]

Cults prey on the psychological vulnerabilities of its followers just like you mention that Liz was recruited after the death of her father. And to answer your question how Sharkman did it, that is how he was able to fool so many people to be dependent on him.

[Stephanie Runyon]

Cults prey on the psychological vulnerabilities of its followers just like you mention that Liz was recruited after the death of her father. And to answer your question how Sharkman did it, that is how he was able to fool so many people to be dependent on him.

The stuff that Sharkman subjected his followers were illogical at times. I didn't quite understand how people become so blinded by a person that they will do something against their very nature. I am stubborn though, and I tend to be the annoying kid who asks “Why?” repeatedly (and yes, I still do that being 41 years old.)

[gbadegesin Akanni]

@Mounce574 sir you know sometimes people get fooled by someone they rely or put hope and trust on i guess is not their full option what i observed in it is that we have to test some people in aspects of knowing the real person

[Stephanie Runyon]

I guess the best analogy that would fit this would be a codependency on needing someone to validate a person's reason for being. In a small sense, it could be what happens when we depend on that one person that we might think is a significant other, instead of branching out to many people like a cult, it lies within oneself.