Manhattan Cult Story

Some pretty fascinating deep dives into cult life, but its shortcomings reminded me why I generally prefer to read true crime works written by people not directly involved in the events. I don't particularly want to hear about one man's journey to self-actualization when I pick up a cult book. Still, compellingly written.

This book was good, and Spencer Schneider's descent into Sharon Gans' cult is pretty crazy. Unfortunately, and this feels bad to say when someone is recounting traumatic events, it feels like he brushed over a lot of it. He was in the cult for over 20 years and I still never got a good sense of how they operated or the overall picture, and as a result Gans' School comes off feeling very run-of-the-hill “bad person says mumbo jumbo to trick people into worshipping them” thing. It was a woman instead of a man, but otherwise, I don't think the memoir delved deep enough to give this a sense of distinction. And ultimately, it is Schneider's life, and he is probably still working through a lot of it, so I hate that I feel this way- while trying to process and recontextualize your life after severing most of what you've known from your adult life, you probably don't think too much about making it feel distinct from other cults. But I think the main missing ingredient here is that I never really understood why Schneider (or anybody else, for that matter) chose to join Gans and put up with her over-the-top nonsense. Sure, he said they were taken advantage of and manipulated it, and I certainly believe him. But the book itself doesn't do anything to convince me.

That said, I do think it showcases how these groups can operate so long undetected and seemingly benign, and the run-of-the-mill quality of it does make it a bit more terrifying, like “how many more of these are out there?”. And I think Schneider wrote the story well, I just wish he had waited to write it or delved a bit deeper. Also, it was narrated very well.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest review!