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100 Must-Read Books About Life in Cults and Oppressive Religious Sects

As you may have realized from my last piece, I love to settle down with a piping hot cup of coffee, snuggle into some fuzzy blankets… and proceed to be stricken blind with white hot rage and righteous indignation. And, for me, nothing seems to accomplish that faster and more thoroughly than reading about the victims of cults, extremist religions, and strict fundamentalism.
The following list represents just a small portion of the religions (past and present) that have been identified as encouraging practices that are destructive psychologically, emotionally, and physically. These are the memoirs and stories about people who feel they were forced to escape oppressive religious sects. This list does not serve to condemn those people that feel fulfilled by their chosen spiritual paths.
Note: Bookriot misnumbered and there's actually 106 titles :)
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The World in Flames: A Black Boyhood in a White Supremacist Doomsday Cult (Jerald Walker)
The World in Flames: A Black Boyhood in a White Supremacist Doomsday Cult
1
Jerald Walker
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology (Leah Remini)
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology
2
Leah Remini
Massacre at Waco: The Shocking True Story of Cult Leader David Koresh and the Branch Davidians (Clifford L. Linedecker)
Massacre at Waco: The Shocking True Story of Cult Leader David Koresh and the Branch Davidians
3
Clifford L. Linedecker
Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion (Benjamin E. Zeller)
Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion
4
Benjamin E. Zeller
Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology (Marc Headley)
Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology
5
Marc Headley
The Unbreakable Miss Lovely (Tony Ortega)
The Unbreakable Miss Lovely
6
Tony Ortega
Ruthless (Miscavige)
Ruthless
7
Miscavige
Beyond Belief (Jenna Miscavige Hill)
Beyond Belief
8
Jenna Miscavige Hill
Scientology: Abuse at the Top (Amy Scobee)
Scientology: Abuse at the Top
9
Amy Scobee
Counterfeit Dreams: One Man's Journey Into and Out of the World of Scientology (Jefferson Hawkins)
Counterfeit Dreams: One Man's Journey Into and Out of the World of Scientology
10
Jefferson Hawkins
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breakin (Elissa Wall)
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breakin
11
Elissa Wall
Under the Banner of Heaven (Utah)
Under the Banner of Heaven
12
Utah
The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice (Rebecca Musser)
The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice
13
Rebecca Musser
Escape (Carolyn Jessop)
Escape
14
Carolyn Jessop
The Sound of Gravel (Ruth Wariner)
The Sound of Gravel
15
Ruth Wariner
Church of Lies (Jesse Flora)
Church of Lies
16
Jesse Flora
Lost Boy: The True Story of One Man's Exile From a Polygamist Cult and His Brave Journey to Reclaim (Brent W. Jeffs and Maia Szalavitz)
Lost Boy: The True Story of One Man's Exile From a Polygamist Cult and His Brave Journey to Reclaim
17
Brent W. Jeffs and Maia Szalavitz
A Journey to Waco (Clive Doyle, Catherine Wessinger and Matthew D. W)
A Journey to Waco
18
Clive Doyle, Catherine Wessinger and Matthew D. W
A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (David Thibodeau and Leon Whiteson)
A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story
19
David Thibodeau and Leon Whiteson
In the Shadow of the Moons (Nansook Hong)
In the Shadow of the Moons
20
Nansook Hong
Born Into the Children of God (Natacha Tormey)
Born Into the Children of God
21
Natacha Tormey
Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the People's Temple (Deborah Layton)
Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the People's Temple
22
Deborah Layton
Not Without My Sister (Kristina Jones, Celeste Jones & Juliana Buhring)
Not Without My Sister
23
Kristina Jones, Celeste Jones & Juliana Buhring
Stories From Jonestown (Leigh Fondakowski)
Stories From Jonestown
24
Leigh Fondakowski
A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown (Julia Scheeres)
A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown
25
Julia Scheeres
Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult (Jayanti Tamm)
Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult
26
Jayanti Tamm
Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lives to Tak (Frank Schaeffer)
Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lives to Tak
27
Frank Schaeffer
Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy (Dorothy Allred Solomon)
Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy
28
Dorothy Allred Solomon
God's Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation (Andrea Moore-Emmett)
God's Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation
29
Andrea Moore-Emmett
Blue Windows: A Christian Science Childhood (Barbara Wilson)
Blue Windows: A Christian Science Childhood
30
Barbara Wilson
Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years as a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult (Miriam Williams)
Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years as a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult
31
Miriam Williams
Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church (Lauren Drain)
Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church
32
Lauren Drain
Radical: My Journey Out of Islamic Extremism (Maajid Nawaz)
Radical: My Journey Out of Islamic Extremism
33
Maajid Nawaz
Girl at the End of the World: My Escape From Fundamentalism in Search of Faith With a Future (Elizabeth Esther)
Girl at the End of the World: My Escape From Fundamentalism in Search of Faith With a Future
34
Elizabeth Esther
Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape From Amish Life (Ruth Irene Garrett)
Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape From Amish Life
35
Ruth Irene Garrett
Fifty Years in Polygamy (Kristyn Decker)
Fifty Years in Polygamy
36
Kristyn Decker
Shattered Dreams (Irene Spencer)
Shattered Dreams
37
Irene Spencer
Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson
Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson
38
A Queer and Pleasant Danger (Kate Bornstein)
A Queer and Pleasant Danger
39
Kate Bornstein
Tears of the Silenced: A True Crime and an American Tragedy; Severe Child Abuse and Leaving the Amis (Misty Griffin)
Tears of the Silenced: A True Crime and an American Tragedy; Severe Child Abuse and Leaving the Amis
40
Misty Griffin
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