Cults are not necessarily destructive, but where there’s power, there’s often abuse.Ĭults we’re familiar with may have featured “a dangerous undercurrent … psychological and sexual abuse … forced fasting and sleep deprivation, threats of violence toward anyone attempting to leave the group, suicides, even an unsolved murder.” The author tells us when she compared such groups, “the methods used to assert such power - to create community and solidarity, to establish an ‘us’ and a ‘them,’ to align collective values, to justify questionable behavior, to instill ideology and inspire fear - were uncannily, cultishly similar.” Montell explains that the most basic traits of cults are a “distinctive vernacular” and a charismatic leader (usually male, often called guru, master or father). “Our behavior is driven by a desire for belonging and purpose,” she tells us. But in the captivating book “Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism,” author Amanda Montell shows how we are all susceptible to the power of cults. Unable to remain silent any longer, Lucien will soon discover that looking for answers at House of Earth may be the most dangerous rule he can break.I think it’s human nature to be fascinated with cults - maybe because we think we’re too smart to be pulled into the net of a cult leader. Continuing to meet Gabrielle in secret only reinforces his gnawing fear that something about his world is terribly wrong.
New rules are put in place, and anyone who violates them is asked to leave and never spoken of again.Īs forbidden questions pile up, Lucien’s willingness to obey weakens. Slowly, things begin to change at House of Earth. But when his youthful curiosity draws him into town and to Gabrielle, a public-school student living a life wholly different from his own, Lucien’s inquisitiveness about life beyond the commune and questions regarding the events of 9/11 threaten to unbalance everything he thought he knew. It’s where Lucien is taught the importance of living in harmony with nature and building a peaceful and sustainable future. Lucien has everything he needs: a loving mama, a library full of books, and House of Earth, a private school nestled safely in the woods of upstate New York. In this coming-of-age thriller, a twelve-year-old boy’s spark of courage to question the harmonious wooded commune he calls home may burn down more than just his own illusions.
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