Don't Call it a Cult

March 1, 2021
In the midst of the #MeToo movement, a peculiar cult story captured the nation's attention. Women came forward to share their stories of being blackmailed and branded under the guise of empowerment. They had joined NXIVM, a corny but seemingly harmless self-improvement organization, in order to become the best versions of themselves and help others. Little did they know that the group's infectious positivity belied founder Keith Raniere's sinister intentions and a secret sorority of slaves. The scandal's attachment to B-list celebrities and conventionally attractive women made it inescapable in the media. NXIVM has been the subject of multiple docuseries and podcasts, but investigative journalist Berman's account is a standout. With astute research, court testimonies, and firsthand narratives from inner-circle NXIVM members, she traces the downfall of NXIVM from its roots in Raniere's first failed multi-level marketing company to the trials of each ringleader. Berman demonstrates the tactics cults use to manipulate and control without casting judgment or blame on the victims. Truly gripping, this is the definitive book on NXIVM.

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March 26, 2021

Berman (former senior editor, VICE) charts the rise and fall of NXIVM, a self-help multilevel marketing organization founded in 1998 and eventually exposed as a cult. NXIVM's leader, Keith Raniere, sexually abused his followers, who included actress Allison Mack and heiress Clare Bronfman. Promoting himself as one of the smartest people in the world, Raniere set up a hierarchical structure based on a series of expensive classes. Questions about the organization arose early on, but he designed a system in which adherents who voiced criticism were labeled "suppressives," or enemies. Taking a mostly chronological approach to an unwieldy, potentially confusing narrative, Berman illustrates how Raniere hid or reframed his darkest secrets to make himself look like a victim. Despite accounts from former members (whom Raniere attempted to silence through lawsuits), it wasn't until years later that Raniere was held accountable; in 2019, he was found guilty of sex trafficking and forced labor, among other charges. VERDICT NXIVM has been covered extensively, but Berman sets her work apart with a deep dive into the history and growth of the organization and an empathetic look at the psychology of the victims. Given the wide interest in this story, this is a strong addition to true crime shelves.--Bart Everts, Rutgers Univ.--Camden Lib., NJ

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Starred review from March 15, 2021
How a treacherous cult amassed a following under the guise of self-improvement. Vancouver-based investigative journalist Berman front-loads her startling, comprehensive expos� on the NXIVM group with key information on how the association became popular yet remained elusive to law enforcement. She shares interview material from several members of a large cast of characters, including Clare and Sara Bronfman, heirs to the Seagram's fortune who funded the organization for years (Clare is currently in prison). Berman tracks NXIVM "Vanguard" Keith Raniere's history as an Amway distributor-turned-pyramid-sales executive. In the 1980s, he joined forces with former nurse Nancy Salzman (known as "Prefect"), and the duo promoted training and coaching programs geared toward women's empowerment. Using a philosophical playbook influenced by Scientology and other similar groups, NXIVM began amassing members, each of whom was charged with recruiting others via classes called "intensives." Bankrolled by the Bronfman sisters, who were cunningly exploited for their exorbitant wealth and strained familial relationships, the increasingly "dangerous mafia-like" society steamrolled its way into the lives of vulnerable, unsuspecting people, employing blackmail, extortion, forced confinement, and even sex trafficking. Raniere then created offshoots like the particularly insidious Dominus Obsequious Sororium. "By the time of his arrest," writes Berman about DOS, "at least 102 women had been initiated into Raniere's secret society. Not all of them had been branded, and not all of them had been coerced into sex, but court records and testimony would show that he considered all of them to be his slaves." Not for the easily rattled, the author's engrossing reportage meticulously reveals the tumultuous rise and fall of NXIVM after numerous criminal indictments and prosecutions. The author incorporates critical narratives from former members, laying bare their awful experiences. Her research, which eventually caused her to fear for her own personal safety, informs a vital cautionary tale about how "power, consent, and women's agency" can be weaponized. File this alongside Lawrence Wright's Going Clear and Jeff Guinn's The Road to Jonestown. An incendiary, serpentine report on criminal manipulation of staggering proportions.

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