You never get the whole story when listening to the evening news or watching the docudramas that pop up when a major story hits the news. Sarah Berman has done an excellent job of laying out the history of NXIVM and Keith Raniere, showing each step along his path to using these desperate women to fuel his rise to power and fame. You would never believe this could happen in the US, yet here is the proof. Berman has skillfully researched and followed the truth to show how easily Raniere was able to find and exploit the weak among us. His story should serve as a cautionary tale to us all.

This was so DRYYYYY

I battle a lot with true crime non fiction and this book was a deep battle for me to be interested in it even though I love reading about cults

Such a great, concise book about NXIVM. Spends way more time with people who have been less publicly vocal but have more significant information. Talks less about the inner workings of the cult educational programs than some other sources but that's not totally pivotal information.

This was fine. I found the first half a bit confusing due to the sheer amount of people referenced, but the glossary at the front helped. I didn’t specifically dislike anything about the writing of this book, but there was something about it that I overall just found mediocre. The story itself was wild and horrific. I ended up finding the latter half more interesting than the first half, probably also due to the way it focuses on a few people in particular.

I have always enjoyed true crime and learning about cults. NXIVM or Keith Rainere before I read this book. It was interesting to me how many similarities it had to Scientology since Keith stole his ideas from other cults. I didn’t know that he started with an MLM, or pyramid scheme, before organizing a cult. The book itself was a little dry. I found myself nodding off at points in the book. I recently watched a documentary on NXIVM and it kept the interest level up a lot more than this book. I would have liked it better if there was more first person narrative on the experiences and if some of the drier and repetitive excerpts were removed. Overall, it was an informational text that I learned new information from.

This is crazy! I’ve followed the NXIVM story and was excited to get approved for this one. After reading this I was sucked down the rabbit hole of all things NXIVM. This is well researched and presented. If you’re interested in cults at all definitely pick this one up.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eGalley. All opinions are my own.

Here's my review of this book: EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS and I go into why longer in my video review.

From the synopsis: Through the accounts of central NXIVM figures, Berman uncovers how dozens of women seeking creative coaching and networking opportunities instead were blackmailed, literally branded, near-starved, and enslaved. Don't Call It a Cult is a riveting account of NXIVM's rise to power, its ability to evade prosecution for decades, and the investigation that finally revealed its dark secrets to the world.

After four months with Don't Call It a Cult, I think it does an excellent job describing the first of those (NXIVM's rise to power), an adequate job of the second (how it evaded prosecution), and a weak job of the third (the investigation).

I would not recommend this book to someone who's not read, watched, or listened to an account of NXIVM. I'd read early coverage, but nothing since then, which made me excited to pick up this book -- sometimes I run into knowing too much backstory, and that can be disappointing as a reader. But I found myself without the scaffolding needed to really care about some of the minute details or be able to easily follow along. It seems this Don't Call it a Cult is more designed to provide additional information to those who already have a solid grasp who all the major players are as well as the broad strokes of what they each did.

As noted above, I think this book's strong suit is in showing the growth and development of NXIVM and Keith Raniere's other... ventures. It touches on how he and his supporters were able to avoid prosecution, but I'm not quite sure how they were able to for so long -- in part because I'm honestly not sure how the investigation actually came to pass. The author mentions a conversation that led to a call to the FBI, but doesn't clarify when the FBI started investigating or why, or even how the prosecutor came to have enough evidence to proceed with charges. Given that these are the sort of key details I was expecting, the last portion of the book felt scant, further showcasing just how overly detailed the first half was (tracing the beginnings of NXIVM etc.).

For me, I'd have preferred a bit less on the early days of Raniere's manipulation and deception, as well as his philosophy, and more on what actually led to the trial. At the same time, I imagine that those coming to this book with greater prior knowledge may be pleased by its current balance.

Where to even begin? First, if you haven't watched the HBO series on this cult, you might want to do that first. Even if it means just getting a trial subscription just for a few days. I promise, it's worth it. Second, after you've watched the doc, then there's a podcast you should listen to as well. It's all about NXIVM. Then I would read this book third. Could you just read the book? Yes, but I really think having a little background helps.

The cult itself and this book is absolutely crazy. You'll read Sarah's story of how she got involved, how she got branded, how she rose up in the cult and, ultimately, how she got the hell out. There will probably be a lot of triggers for many people, so beware, but it is worth the read.

Fortunately this cult has been exposed and is mostly shut down. There's still followers of Keith and people who support him, but the most part, everyone knows the dark and dirty secrets.

5/5 Stars

I have followed this story and have found it quite interesting. While this book is well researched, it was a little dry in how it was presented. I would have liked for it to read more like a story. You will learn more about this topic which is always a good thing!

I will call it a Cult! This is a very well researched book by Sarah Berman about the amount of damage and destruction Keith Raniere caused because he thought he had the right to. It is incredible how many peoples lives he ruined, mostly young women. He lied, stole, cheated, abused, and manipulated anyone to have his needs met.

Most of the women who initially joined NXIVM wanted to make the world a better place and improve themselves. They were not told what that entailed. As the book continues, I could actually feel the pull of the increased coercion on some of the women spoken about. It would start with small things, such as being questioned if you did not like a certain food. This meant something bigger, that you were blocking it b/c of unchallenged ideas or other nonsense. Then it got worse. Weight became a huge issue. Keith would assign goal weights for the women and this lead to many becoming sick and developing eating disorders. He was sleeping with many of the women, but lying about this. If a woman got pregnant, he would force her to have an abortion. Others, he kept promising he was going to have a baby with them. However, he would say they were not ready. If you got cancer, it was because of the bad thoughts you harbored. It was very destructive.

He starts to develop more and more restrictive ideas to make sure the women always listen to him. He has them write damaging things about themselves and tapes them. Then if they did not comply, it was held over their head that this would come out. He is angry at one girl and has her held in a room for 2 years. She was punished for cutting her hair. He starts to have the group identify love with pain. That is really what it is about. So, he now has many NXIVM followers thinking they are doing a service teaching discipline and the ability to endure agony. This leads to the worst where a separate group exists. The women are tied up and branded with his initials with a cauterizing pen that must have been horrifically painful. They are now slaves and some of the women have become so complicit they are doing illegal acts.

Reading this just made me so angry and sad. It is so wrong to take the joy out of someone’s life. Several of the women plead quilts to crimes. However, thankfully Keith Raniere was found quilty on many serious charges such as forced labor, sexual trafficking, exploitation of a child, extortion, and fraud. He feels no remorse. He was given a 120 year prison sentence. I think that at least some justice was done. The only cautionary tale to come from this is to be very careful when your gut tells you things are not right. They probably are not. The book does an excellent job showing how it is easier then many think to get caught up in group thinking and coercion.

Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Berman, and Steerforth Press for providing a copy of this book.

Have you devoured every NXIVM documentary, article and podcast that's already out there? Allow me to direct you to investigative reporter Sarah Berman's extensively researched stranger-than-fiction novel, Don't Call it a Cult. While I was not the largest fan of the minimalist/straightforward writing style, the intriguing interviews and "OMFG, how did this actually happen!?!" narrative was more than enough to keep me invested from beginning to end.

I’m so glad this book came into my life. This book had all done the perspectives on NXIVM that I wanted to hear.

Don't Call is a Cult scared me to death and broke my heart. I am SO proud of the women who got out and are healing. Will definitely purchase for the library collection.

I have followed the story of NXIVM for a couple of years now, so I was very excited to read this book when I first heard about it. Berman did an excellent job describing all aspects of NXIVM, and I appreciated her focus on the women who were sucked into this cult. Her focus on the victims were what made this book so compelling for me.

Bravo to Sarah Berman for such an intricately and exhaustively researched book about the NXIVM cult (does anyone else hate when it comes time to spell this ridiculous word?) Sarah seems to have access to everyone who had anything to do with the cult, minus those currently in prison or awaiting sentencing. I have the feeling she could have gotten Raniere himself to speak with her, though given the way he senselessly blathers on, I don't think it would have added to the book.

If you're interested in cults, this is a must-read, right up there with books on the Mansion family and The People's Temple. Berman expertly lays out not only how so many people fell under Raniere's spell (though this will simply be a mystery to a great many people who find him boring and robotic - put me in that category.. Even Jim Jones seemed to have more magnetism than this guy! Must be a "you had to be there" kind of thing). More importantly, Berman breaks down how the cult was able to control people not only with mind manipulation, but outright threats, lawsuits, endless amounts of Bronfman (Seagrams) money, and even Albany political influence. Shame on Andrew Cuomo for allowing this cult to proliferate under his watch!

Of course, most of us know about what brought the cult to national attention - its branding of women inside of an "exclusive" women's club called DOS. Most of us know about the semi-celebrities in the cult, most notably master-recruiter Allison Mack, because she starred in a TV show called Superman. But the cult has a very long list of nefarious activities, including holding a young woman inside of a room for two years, sexual abuse of a minor, and potentially murder of a former member. The cult may not have gotten to the level of murdering hundreds of people a la Jim Jones, but it was likely headed in that direction.

What was fascinating and sad to me was to see how much this cult was run by women. Raniere may have been the figurehead, but it was women behind the scenes doing most of the recruiting, most of the brainwashing, and most of the harm to other women. Sad to see how many women in this day and age can not only fall for a male charlatan but can actively engage in the utmost harm to other women because a man tells them to do it. Scary stuff.

I rate the book 4.5 stars instead of 5 for one main reason - in the beginning, Berman felt it necessary to point out that most of the members were "white and privileged." However, the book then goes on to make clear that the largest contingent within the cult was a faction based in Mexico, and its three youngest victims were Mexican. The "only white and privileged" statement sounds suspiciously shoehorned in there to meet current publishing trends. Unfortunately, the buzzwords and spin-words of wokeism are just as empty and harmful as cult language much of the time, and I would have preferred to see Berman, and obviously very intelligent reporter, see this for what it is. Luckily, that kind of thing went away fairly quickly.

4.5 stars rounded to 5.

A well researched book about NXIVM. I first learned about this from a podcast with Sarah Edmondson, and this book provides a deep dive on the topic. The book fully explains Keith Raniere (CEO) and the abuse suffered by the women of NXIVM. I would recommend reading if interested!

tw: abuse; sexual abuse; trauma; child abuse

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Steerforth Press for providing an advance reader copy to review.

Do you like learning about cults? Are you curious about the NXIVM story? Do you want to understand how so many people ended up following a man who claimed to be ethical but was actually evil? If so, this book is for you. Personally, I'm fascinated by cults. So many people are promised a good thing only to find out the horrible truth underneath the promises. All of their stories deserve to be told and heard.

Thank you to Steerforth Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

Don't Call It a Cult is well-written in a conversational tone. It feels like you're being told a story which makes the complicated timeline and long list of people easier to keep track of. Berman does a great job of boiling the NXIVM story down to its most crucial parts while still making sure to give the victims the humanity and full expression they deserve.

Before reading this book you should know that the leaders of NXIVM were involved in sex abuses and sex trafficking (among other crimes) and those topics are discussed in this book. In addition, there are stories of women being restrained and punished in a variety of ways. So read with caution.

The NXIVM story is complicated. There are the clear wrong-doers, the people who genuinely thought they were doing good work and those between. So many people thought they'd joined an ethical organization working to do good in the world then watched all of that crumble as the truth of Keith Raniere's crimes and true goals came to light. I cannot imagine the pain and complicated feelings these victims experience.

Berman tracks Raniere's story starting long before NXIVM began, creating a clear timeline of how his past behavior built up to NXIVM. That pattern continues as it becomes clear that he slowly introduced concepts in the NXIVM curriculum meant to manipulate people in such a way that he could eventually abuse them and have his victims believe they were in the wrong. There are some deeply disturbing and disgusting beliefs and "lessons" that he taught shared in the book. But there isn't a way to tell the story of NXIVM without these disturbing details to fully understand all that happened and how it happened.

I've watched two documentaries about NXIVM and listened to podcasts about it. So, I was familiar with the story before reading this book. While I'm sure that prior knowledge made it somewhat easier to follow the story, I do think Berman did a great job of writing this story in a way that's relatively easy to follow. (I say relatively because of the complexity of the NXIVM story. There is no easy way to tell it.) There were also perspectives and details in her book that I had not heard elsewhere. Though some stories that were in the documentary were not in her book. It's impossible to fit everything in one place. So, if you're interested in learning more I recommend the documentaries Seduced and The Vow.

The book includes some pictures and notes, as well as, an extensive index. At the start of the book is a list of everyone mentioned with a short description of who they are, which is a helpful reference. Overall, I think this is an excellent addition to the NXIVM story and to cult literature.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Don't Call It a Cult. NXIVM has fascinated me and I have devoured honestly most media about it. There was still tons of new information for me in here, especially about Keith Raneire's trial. Sarah Berman's reporting is thoughtful and thorough. I would love to read a follow-up because I'm sure even more information will come out eventually.

I’ve never heard of the NXIVM case which is actually quite surprising as how messed up Keith Raniere is. There’s a Ponzi-scheme business where women are seeking creative coaching and networking opportunities but leads to sex trafficking, abuse, enslavement, and so much more horrific events. I thought this was interesting and heart breaking, as true crime usually is. I think hearing about the people who were affected by it really puts things in perspective. That being said, I thought that this kind of veered off topic sometimes so I found myself getting bored at times. I do wish there was a little bit more background with some of the cases because I feel like they were they were introduced and then quickly moves onto a new topic.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book!