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100 Must-Read Books About Life in Cults and Oppressive Religious Sects

As you may have realized from my last piece, I love to settle down with a piping hot cup of coffee, snuggle into some fuzzy blankets… and proceed to be stricken blind with white hot rage and righteous indignation. And, for me, nothing seems to accomplish that faster and more thoroughly than reading about the victims of cults, extremist religions, and strict fundamentalism.
The following list represents just a small portion of the religions (past and present) that have been identified as encouraging practices that are destructive psychologically, emotionally, and physically. These are the memoirs and stories about people who feel they were forced to escape oppressive religious sects. This list does not serve to condemn those people that feel fulfilled by their chosen spiritual paths.
Note: Bookriot misnumbered and there's actually 106 titles :)
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from bookriot.com · made by Bobbi Green
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1
The World in Flames: A Black Boyhood in a White Supremacist Doomsday Cult (Jerald Walker)
The World in Flames: A Black Boyhood in a White Supremacist Doomsday Cult (Jerald Walker)
2
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology (Leah Remini)
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology (Leah Remini)
3
Massacre at Waco: The Shocking True Story of Cult Leader David Koresh and the Branch Davidians (Clifford L. Linedecker)
Massacre at Waco: The Shocking True Story of Cult Leader David Koresh and the Branch Davidians (Clifford L. Linedecker)
4
Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion (Benjamin E. Zeller)
Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion (Benjamin E. Zeller)
5
Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology (Marc Headley)
Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology (Marc Headley)
6
The Unbreakable Miss Lovely (Tony Ortega)
The Unbreakable Miss Lovely (Tony Ortega)
7
Ruthless (Miscavige)
Ruthless (Miscavige)
8
Beyond Belief (Jenna Miscavige Hill)
Beyond Belief (Jenna Miscavige Hill)
9
Scientology: Abuse at the Top (Amy Scobee)
Scientology: Abuse at the Top (Amy Scobee)
10
Counterfeit Dreams: One Man's Journey Into and Out of the World of Scientology (Jefferson Hawkins)
Counterfeit Dreams: One Man's Journey Into and Out of the World of Scientology (Jefferson Hawkins)
11
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breakin (Elissa Wall)
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breakin (Elissa Wall)
12
Under the Banner of Heaven (Utah)
Under the Banner of Heaven (Utah)
13
The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice (Rebecca Musser)
The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice (Rebecca Musser)
14
Escape (Carolyn Jessop)
Escape (Carolyn Jessop)
15
The Sound of Gravel (Ruth Wariner)
The Sound of Gravel (Ruth Wariner)
16
Church of Lies (Jesse Flora)
Church of Lies (Jesse Flora)
17
Lost Boy: The True Story of One Man's Exile From a Polygamist Cult and His Brave Journey to Reclaim (Brent W. Jeffs and Maia Szalavitz)
Lost Boy: The True Story of One Man's Exile From a Polygamist Cult and His Brave Journey to Reclaim (Brent W. Jeffs and Maia Szalavitz)
18
A Journey to Waco (Clive Doyle, Catherine Wessinger and Matthew D. W)
A Journey to Waco (Clive Doyle, Catherine Wessinger and Matthew D. W)
19
A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (David Thibodeau and Leon Whiteson)
A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (David Thibodeau and Leon Whiteson)
20
In the Shadow of the Moons (Nansook Hong)
In the Shadow of the Moons (Nansook Hong)
21
Born Into the Children of God (Natacha Tormey)
Born Into the Children of God (Natacha Tormey)
22
Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the People's Temple (Deborah Layton)
Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the People's Temple (Deborah Layton)
23
Not Without My Sister (Kristina Jones, Celeste Jones & Juliana Buhring)
Not Without My Sister (Kristina Jones, Celeste Jones & Juliana Buhring)
24
Stories From Jonestown (Leigh Fondakowski)
Stories From Jonestown (Leigh Fondakowski)
25
A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown (Julia Scheeres)
A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown (Julia Scheeres)
26
Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult (Jayanti Tamm)
Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult (Jayanti Tamm)
27
Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lives to Tak (Frank Schaeffer)
Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lives to Tak (Frank Schaeffer)
28
Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy (Dorothy Allred Solomon)
Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy (Dorothy Allred Solomon)
29
God's Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation (Andrea Moore-Emmett)
God's Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation (Andrea Moore-Emmett)
30
Blue Windows: A Christian Science Childhood (Barbara Wilson)
Blue Windows: A Christian Science Childhood (Barbara Wilson)
31
Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years as a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult (Miriam Williams)
Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years as a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult (Miriam Williams)
32
Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church (Lauren Drain)
Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church (Lauren Drain)
33
Radical: My Journey Out of Islamic Extremism (Maajid Nawaz)
Radical: My Journey Out of Islamic Extremism (Maajid Nawaz)
34
Girl at the End of the World: My Escape From Fundamentalism in Search of Faith With a Future (Elizabeth Esther)
Girl at the End of the World: My Escape From Fundamentalism in Search of Faith With a Future (Elizabeth Esther)
35
Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape From Amish Life (Ruth Irene Garrett)
Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape From Amish Life (Ruth Irene Garrett)
36
Fifty Years in Polygamy (Kristyn Decker)
Fifty Years in Polygamy (Kristyn Decker)
37
Shattered Dreams (Irene Spencer)
Shattered Dreams (Irene Spencer)
38
Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson
Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson
39
A Queer and Pleasant Danger (Kate Bornstein)
A Queer and Pleasant Danger (Kate Bornstein)
40
Tears of the Silenced: A True Crime and an American Tragedy; Severe Child Abuse and Leaving the Amis (Misty Griffin)
Tears of the Silenced: A True Crime and an American Tragedy; Severe Child Abuse and Leaving the Amis (Misty Griffin)
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