Resources
Before I first encountered language that explained why my childhood reality had felt so unstable (narcissistic abuse), I was obsessed with books, documentaries, and podcasts about cults and high-control groups.
Even as my understanding has expanded, those creators continue to shape my thinking—and I still find their work deeply interesting, grounding, and relevant.
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Books
A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings (Christian Nationalism)
Pure by Linda Kay Klein (Purity Culture)
Leaving Isn’t The Hardest Thing by Lauren Hough (Children of God)
Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman (Hasidism)
Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill (Scientology)
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs by Elissa Wall (FLDS)
Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church by Megan Phelps-Roper (Westboro)
Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar (Quiverfull)
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini (Scientology)
Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me by Ron Miscavige (Scientology)
Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo (Complex PTSD)
Why I Left the Amish: A Memoir by Saloma Miller Furlong (Amish)
Documentaries
The Vow (NXIVM)
Shiny Happy People : Duggar Family Secrets (Quiverfull)
Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (Scientology)
Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (NXIVM)
The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin (Remnant Fellowship)
Gloriavale: New Zealand’s Christian Cult Community (Christian Fundamentalism)
Desperately Seeking Soulmate (Twin Flames Universe)
Q: Into the Storm (QAnon)
Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (Love Has Won)
Children of God: Lost and Found (Children of God)
Escaping Twin Flames (Twin Flames Universe)
Prophet’s Prey (FLDS)
Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults (Heaven’s Gate)
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (FLDS)
Jesus Camp (Evangelical Christianity)
Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare (“delinquent teen” camp)
Podcasts / YouTube
Cults to Consciousness (personal stories of high demand religions)
Alyssa Grenfell (ex-Mormon)
Doctor Ramani (narcissism)
Genetically Modified Skeptic (exVangelical)
Growing Up In Polygamy (ex-polygamist)
Viral Virtue with Jordan and McKay (ex-Mormon)
Allison After NXIVM (NXIVM)
Maintenance Phase (diet culture)