Welcome to Litsy!

Finished!!! Call it a “What the Hell are you Women Thinking?!”

#nonfiction #cults #NXIVM #booklover #readajourney

@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks - so the Vow and other podcasts/documentaries have told this story multiple times. But... I feel like since this happened so recently, it's terrifying. And initially, it started as people trying to develop “self-help“ classes.

Current audiobook. Yikes.

#cults #crime

Audiobooks are the best! I‘ve watched a lot of docs about NXIVM, but this book still offered new information and perspectives, including quotes and testimony from the trial. Absolutely mine-boggling from start to finish. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#October2021

So, my favorite genre is #TrueCrime. I love anything #TrueCrime - I like documentaries, podcasts, books, etc. Cults are particularly scary for me... This book, wow! I knew most of the story already (podcasts and documentaries) but ... the book was really well worth it - it has been one I have gifted to a few people.

#12BooksOf2021

Not a light read about Keith Raniere and NXIVM. The control that he had over these women was disgusting. I'm glad he will be behind bars for the rest of his life for destroying all those lives.

A huge thank you to @ElizaMarie for this special surprise 😘❤️😘 I‘m so excited! I‘ve really been fascinated by cult mentality lately. This was so thoughtful and really appreciated!

OMG !! I just couldn't put this one down! He is awful!

#FallTBR
#IPromiseToRead
@AkashaVampie

#CrimeADay
@Bookworm54 @AsYouWish @jb72 @DieAReader @Jessinikkip @AnansiGirl @Read4Life

Busy relaxing day. Watching the Packers (add to my anxiety) JuJu sleeping on me and me reading about sex cults

💚💛💚💛

Ugh, he is so gross!

#CrimeADay
@Bookworm54 @AkashaVampie @AsYouWish @jb72 @DieAReader @Jessinikkip @AnansiGirl @Read4Life

Basically, a review of what I learned from HBO‘s documentary The Vow. The cult of NXIVM, a “self improvement” pyramid scheme led by Keith Raniere, which was big in the news several years ago, was embraced by some semi famous people. Although the documentary heavily features Catherine and India Oxenburg, and this focuses on others like Daniela who was a 16 year old Mexican girl imprisoned in a room by her parents and Keith Raniere, there‘s overlap.

Excited to start this one as I wait for my doctor's appointment (later today)

Fall TBR: September 22nd to December 21st

#FallTBR
#IPromiseToRead
@AkashaVampie

#CrimeADay
@Bookworm54 @AsYouWish @jb72 @DieAReader @Jessinikkip @AnansiGirl @Read4Life

Keith Raniere was a gross misogynist who preyed on womxn financially, mentally, spiritually and sexually—and he used other womxn to help him do it. Disgusting. I can‘t understand how peoplx don‘t see all the red flags. NXIVM was just another cult. Remember this: cults are heavily centered around sexual abuse. Watch survivors tell their stories: https:/watch.amazon.com/detailasin=B07Q58882Z&territory=US&ref_=share_ios_season&r=web

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I'm a fan of a well-researched book and this definitely fits that category. Berman does an excellent job with her investigation into the NXIVM cult.

Raniere reminded me of Manson with his narcissistic manipulative ways. It made me wonder how many other "businesses" like this exist in our world.

Day 1 of #AnyWayYouReadathon and I finished Last Chance Books… which I will not be recommending. Making progress with the tagged book. Cults are crazy, yo! @kimmypete1 @Eggbeater

Raniere reminded me a lot of Manson, with his mind games and manipulation. The things that happened are absolutely horrible and disgusting.

Disturbing. At times I had to put it down. Why don't we ever have female cult leaders with a bunch of male minions running around doing their bidding no matter how nefarious? (Sarcasm, not actually advocating this)

Well written and researced investigative journalism. I thought the author gave the victims a decent platform so that you understood the magnitude. Keith Raniere is Mansonlike and repulsive.

Big book haul from my favorite indie bookstore @FountainBookstore . Five are Fountain book club reads, but the Jennifer Armentrout is my pick. I am really looking forward to Don't Call It a Cult and Autonomous. Have you read any of these?

Berman did a fantastic job delving into the cult dynamics of NXIVM, making it easy to understand how people were absorbed by it. She shines a light on our own crippling blind spots in the process, helping readers identify the red flags of a narcissist, the alluring disguise of toxic positivity, and the ease with which weapons are created out of our own silent shame.

My full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3841838326

⭐️⭐️⭐️ If it coerces like a cult, extorts like a cult, bleeds you dry like a cult ... it‘s probably a cult. Under the guise of a pyramid scheme company and self-help organization, self-proclaimed super genius Keith Raniere created NXIVM, preying on wealthy, vulnerable women including some minor celebrities. Twenty years of systemic abuse, branding (hot iron), and sex trafficking transpired. I‘m gonna need more detail; this was too broad a stoke.

🎧🧩 Put the final few pieces in this 1000-piece Frank Lloyd Wright beauty this morning. This puzzle took me longer than I‘d like to admit, but I love the finished product. Might frame it! 🖼

#audiopuzzling

This is the most temporally comprehensive account of the cult NXIVM I‘ve read so far. She goes back to Toni Natalie & Consumer Buyline, Keith‘s first venture, to the founding of ESP with Nancy Salzman to DOS and his eventual downfall. She interviews many of the key players and relies heavily on court records from Keith‘s trial. While it goes deeper in the past than The Vow, if you‘ve followed this closely, there may not be enough depth for you.

This is the in depth story of the women of the NXIVM organization. Over last summer HBO and Starz both released in-depth documentaries on NXIVM, both focused mostly on the same players that brought the cult down. This book has a similar focus, with a much more in-depth look at the sub-group DOS.