I read this book on the recommendation of a friend who knows the author. I thought it was interesting to read about the authors experience with depression and all that her parents did to try to help her. The experience of meeting Bob and his true happiness company and all that happened to Veena was a little vague. I felt like she left out so much from the experiences that it was hard to know just how he brainwashed her. I also felt like the book jumped around quite a bit which made it confusing and hard to follow. What happened to Veena and those who were under Bob's influence was truly awful and I really hope he is in prison and no longer able to prey on innocent victims.

5.0 stars
HIGHLY recommend

This is a very well-done memoir about a specific Mormon-adjacent cult. However, as someone who grew up as a Jehovah's Witness, another cult, it is so very similar. Both are very difficult to leave, even with support!

Veena is a normal teenager with all the angst and worries. However, her high school has a very high number of deaths by suicide. So Veena attempts death by suicide herself, and it gets so awful from there.

This memoir worked for me, but it's a dark and difficult subject matter. Thankfully, I broke free in college, and Veena did eventually. I hope this book helps many other kids in cults like Veena and me!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7101579957 - posted 4/22/2025
The StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/19f6bf80-6b48-468d-8904-0d0100602ec4?redirect=true - posted 4/22/2025
booksbydorothea Blog: https://booksbydorothea.blogspot.com/2025/04/review-true-happiness-company-earcebook.html - posted 4/22/2025

This memoir was a lot to process, but so powerful. I was literally screaming "don't do it!" at the book on multiple occasions. I was so invested. A good portion of the book was so painful to read, but it made it all the more satisfying when Veena did find her voice and break free from the cult and find her way back to the life she actually wanted. As someone who grew up Mormon, it was really interesting to read about her experience converting to it, especially doing so through this guy who was Mormon but had a totally separate/adjacent self-help cult going on. I was definitely sucked in and thought it was a great, inspiring read.

I loved this book - the author’s upbringing felt so close to mine, and the descent into cult blindness felt so visceral and uncanny. I felt deeply for the author, and grateful to her for sharing her darkest chapter with us.

“Skepticism is a commodity only the complacent can afford”

This memoir is biting, raw, and jarring for an adult reader to consume, and yet the experiences that Dinavahi begins to share are those of a teenager. Veena throws readers immediately into the deep end, providing a visceral experience of the turbulent environment herself and her classmates grew up in.

Beginning with a schooling environment where classmates are succumbing to suicide left and right, her insights afford readers the rare opportunity to peer into the oft elusive lives of real highschoolers, and to experience a taste of the turmoil that her classmates were grappling with daily.

“Some sadistic God had lined up Severna Park students like suicidal dominoes. I didn't know who sparked this chain reaction, because I couldn't figure out how far back the pattern extended.”

Attempting to process such heavy emotions and grief while still trying to figure out your place in the world would leave anyone vulnerable, and the perfect storm of adolescent struggle and unfortunate outside circumstances lead to Veena’s family falling prey to what she ultimately deduces to be a predatory religious cult. This shifts our author from one to another unusually bizarre environments.

Despite so many circumstances seemingly rallying against her, Dinavahi shares so many moments of hope and dark hilarity that personally lit a fire under my ass. She so beautifully captured the experience of growing up and realizing the value in things that your younger self may insist on rejecting.

She shares moments of witnessed self hatred in her half white young daughter, and her culture running through her fingers like water, as well as the transition to a predominantly white environment in the woods of Connecticut as a child of Indian immigrants.

Having the pleasure of knowing the patient and insightful young women that came out of the other side of this story, this memoir left me inspired and reinvigorated. Her deeply personal and unapologetic recounting of moments of pure confusion, doubt, hopelessness, and then eventually self advocacy, made it so clear to me the need to prioritize representation for the next generation.

Particularly in the current climate, we need as adults to intentionally cultivate safe spaces and to unashamedly celebrate and shine light on different heritages. We need to have culture ready and waiting for kids when they hit the age where they are curious to finally explore and potentially embrace it.

Especially in spaces like the predominantly white woods of Connecticut, we need to consistently celebrate diversity for little ones who might not be encouraged to do so by anyone outside of their immediate homes, and expose those who wouldn’t otherwise be exposed at all.

Veena Dinavahi’s writing is really something special, and her experiences range from wildly unique to universal. Her memoir offers a bold look into her life from high school to her thirties, from the beginning to the end of her first marriage, through multiple suicide attempts and then to creating a successful family and life for herself.

She so eloquently shares “I still haven't figured out how to hold space for my own emotions in light of others' suffering.”

Readers can come away from this armed with the knowledge that togetherness, patience, and grace are so vital to suicide prevention. They all contribute to avoiding leaving children susceptible to coercion and vulnerable to harmful outside forces.

If anything, I came away with a reminder that we desperately need to continue sharing our stories openly and without stigma or shame to come out better than the generations before us.

With so many quotes and passages throughout to leave you thinking and circling back to, I can’t recommend picking up this book enough. My jaw was on the floor more than once, and I greatly look forward to devouring anything else that Ms. Dinavahi puts out going forward.

I have always been fascinated by cults so I am always interested in reading about them. The True Happiness Company by Verna Dinavahi was a very interesting read. Her time spent in a cult and how she ended up there was really interesting to read. Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book.

incredibly well-written memoir. Veena recounts her story and her slow descent into becoming part of the True Happiness Company cult. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

:') oof
I have read many a cult memoir and, though I'd like to think that I always approach the subject matter and authors with empathy, I'd be lying if I said I didn't usually leave with an irrepressible, smug satisfaction that "I would never fall for that"
I totally would've fallen for this
Veena's writing style so deftly places you in her young headspace—one that I already deeply related to—and walks you through the years of manipulation and doubt and harm she faced. The things she went through were unbelievable, but you also totally see how they happened.
I found myself wanting to highlight things Mr. Lyon was saying, even knowing where the story was headed!!
above all though, this feels like a story of family and what love really looks like. and as parasocial as it is, I love reading memoirs in the era where you can follow authors on Instagram and see them thrive. veena's a wonderful writer and I hope in her reclaimed life she gets to tell all the stories she wants!!

After multiple attempts on her own young life and her parents cycling through every avenue possible to help, Veena finds herself in the presence of Bob Lyon, leader of the True Happiness Company, who makes one sweeping declaration to her: “I know something you don’t. I know how to be happy... You’ve got absolutely nothing to lose.”

The high-achieving daughter of Indian immigrants, eager to please and impress, depressed and direction-less in her life, Dinavahi finds herself sucked in to Lyon’s world and the community that he has created. What starts as a comfort grows in to a manipulative, gaslighting hell that Veena knows she must escape. In The True Happiness Company, Dinavahi takes readers through her tumultuous journey from an amiable but confused young girl—attending “Suicide High” and the children’s psych ward—to her reclamation of life, post cult presence.


When my partner or I are feeling sad, we will often joke to each other, “Have you tried just not feeling sad?” It usually gets a laugh by the one who is afflicted, followed by a much more serious attempt at understanding by the other. In the case of Dinavahi, the sad reality of many of her experiences with attempting to open up about her depression to others was faced with that same question (minus the joking aspect); her concerns often times being dismissed—intentionally or not—by those around her.

Reading through Dinavahi’s experiences were touching, heartbreaking, infuriating—the doctor saying they needed to “open up the bed for someone who actually needs it”, I SCREAM—eye-opening, often times relatable, and agonizing to face; her life dotted with so much suicide its hard to fathom.

The True Happiness Company is a memoir filled with unflinching honesty, tenderness, and remarkable wit—“Never underestimate the power of good eating and sleeping habits, he said, as if a brisk jog and a plate of steamed broccoli would settle my questions about life and death”—that explores themes of mental health, self-assurance, identity, and, of course, what it means to be “happy”, ultimately teaching readers that happiness is never a one-size-fits-all solution.

A striking debut that needs to be on your list for 2025.

Thank you Random House for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Available May 20 2025. *Quotes are pulled from an advanced reader copy and are subject to change prior to publication*

Whoa, what an interesting read. I’m a big fan of books like this, along the lines of “Dinner for Vampires” or “Glass Castle”. Veena told the story in such an unflinching and honest way. I felt like it made sense how she slowly became part of something treacherous, one tiny choice (and manipulation) at a time. Highly recommend for anyone interested in memoirs, cults, and culture.

A compelling, complicated memoir about an Indian American woman that a cult leader pounces on--I couldn't put it down.

Veena is a high achieving woman in her late teens who struggles with her mental health. What makes things worse is her affluent, educated, high school community where suicide is rampant. Veena attempts suicide several times. After medical and mental health professionals fail to make things better, Veena's desperate parents turn to The True Happiness Company, led by Bob Lyon, a former eye doctor turned self-taught life coach and spiritual adviser who sees client out of his basement. True Happiness Company turns out to be an MLM-style cult, connected with the Mormon church.

If it sounds bizarre, that's because it is.

Bob gradually entangles the family, insisting on frequent calls and sessions with college-aged Veena and influencing her parents. With the specter of her poor mental health hanging over her, Veena and her parents look to Bob as their last hope. He gradually begins to control aspects of Veena's life, at times turning the mental health system on her. Under his spell, Veena marries a college boyfriend, drops out of college, and has three children back-to-back. Bob also becomes intertwined with Veena's husband. In this memoir, Veena skillfully explains how this unbelievable series of events came to be and how she clawed her way out of it.

At times, Veena gets aspects of Hinduism and Indian culture wrong, which rankled me--I did not like the flat stereotypes of east versus west. But often, she got the complex push-pull right and showed the empowering aspects of her Hindu upbringing. She also got honest and ugly about her own mistakes and flaws--something that is critical in a good memoir.

Overall, I loved the writing style and how Veena was able to explain the unique combination of events that affected her life, and how she got out. This memoir made me think deeply about flaws in the American mental health system and why people turn to cults and restrictive religious environments in times of trouble. An especially timely memoir, I highly recommend this one.

The True Happiness Company is Dinavahi's eye-opening memoir that delves into her history of depression and subsequent suicide attempts as a teenager, which left her and her family vulnerable to a cult. People often mistake such vulnerability as a lack of intelligence or awareness and I found this memoir elucidates how an intelligent family could be taken in by a huckster who acted as a therapist of sorts without a license. (To be clear, they sought help from many licensed therapists first). The beginning of the book has a lot of dark humor which eases the tension of reading about her suicide attempts, but it also serves as a barometer of sorts - I realized she had not yet reached rock bottom, a point she wouldn't reach until enmeshed into the culture and demands of the cult, which she calls The True Happiness Company (the actual name isn't shared).

I found Dinavahi's switching of tenses a little jarring - I think she was seeking to portray the immediacy of being in a cult, but she switches tenses multiple times as the memoir proceeds. A couple of times she also jumps forward to share something that wouldn't happen for several years. Otherwise, the memoir is clear and well-written. I especially enjoyed her Endnote in which she delves into psychology a bit more - tools that are used by cult leaders to manipulate people, the problematic nature of mental health labels, and other reflections she had in retrospect. This is a thoughtful and brave memoir worth a read.

The True Happiness Company had me riveted from start to finish. It's wound so tightly, and the story unwinds with such precision – you really do learn how a girl like Veena fell for a cult like The True Happiness Company, just like it says on the cover. At each step of the way, Veena gives us insight into exactly how she was thinking and feeling; it's easy to understand how even a very bright young woman could be groomed and pulled into the trap of a cult, especially one that has convinced her it's saved her life. The book is fascinating, moving, and at times very funny. As an account of how someone could be persuaded to become someone she's not, it's very compelling – but perhaps the most gratifying part of the book is when we finally start to see Veena become who she really is. I highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I read this one in a day. One thing that always gets me is “how do people end up in this cult?” When true mental health services aren’t used, Dinavahi fell into The True Happiness Company. Early on, her voice is nervous, she is uncertain, and is searching for purpose and better days. However, she ends up in a cult. The story of her time in the cult to escape and growth is so raw and vulnerable, especially explaining the traumas she went through, the brainwashing… I’m grateful she shared this with us.

Veena Dinavahi recounts her slow descent into the True Happiness cult with heartbreaking clarity. After multiple suicide attempts, her desperate family turns to Bob, the founder of The True Happiness Company. As a last-ditch effort, they pay for a two-day visit with him in his home. What follows is a years-long nightmare of mental, emotional, and sexual abuse, along with relentless brainwashing and intimidation.

While Veena’s husband, Charlie, is also a victim of this manipulation, I struggled to feel sympathy for him. His treatment of Veena was infuriating and deeply upsetting.

Veena’s story is a reminder of how our mental health system fails people. Throughout her life, she just wanted to be heard, but time and time again, she was ignored and dismissed by nurses, doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Her pain was minimized, and her cries for help went unanswered.

“Everyone wants to live. Some of us just don’t know how.” – Veena Dinavahi

When Veena began to find her voice and speak her truth, I felt such joy. Knowing she is now thriving and using her story to help others is inspiring.

One moment that stayed with me was when she recalled attending her cousin’s Hindu wedding in India. The celebration spanned a week, filled with daily ceremonies, and during one she asked, “Are they married now? Is it official yet?” She was told there wasn’t one specific moment like in American weddings. I found that so beautiful and meaningful.

Thank you, Veena, for sharing your story. And thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

How could you not be tempted by a book whose subtitle is “How a girl like me falls for a cult like that”?

This is Veena Dinavahi’s memoir. We meet her as a deeply depressed teenager in a well-off town that hasa long history of teen suicide. Her parents in a desperate attempt to save her life take Veena to a counselor in Georgia who becomes deeply entertwined in her life, influencing her education, her relationships, her decision to have children, and her religion. There are times you want to reach through the pages and shake her a little bit to help her see how harmful this man is, but it isn’t until many years in that Veena is able to recognize that she needs to free herself. She shares how difficult extricating herself from this is, and how challenging it is to trust yourself again after being taught that you couldn’t.

The conclusion is very conclusion-y- lots of life lessons wrapped up in the author’s well earned psychology degree, and I understand the desire to tie things up neatly, but I think this is where the book loses me a little- it feels a little more text booky and a little less like a memoir.

If you’re expecting a fundamental LDS cult with long dressses and poofy braids, you won’t find it in this book, but it is a reminder that cults can and do exist among us.

Many thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

Wowwww.. this is a book that is going to stick with me for quite sometime. Veena's story of not only her experience in the cult is also such an important examination of the intersectionality of mental health and the flaws in our systems that care for people.

This was an incredible read. Memoirs are one of my favorite genres, and this book reminded me why.

Dinavahi does a great job guiding the reader through her mental state over a nearly decade-long period of her life. She makes readers truly understand her hopelessness and desperation, and how that made her vulnerable to external manipulation. It was also fascinating to read about this cult, and terrifying to see it through her eyes and understand how it is possible for such a dangerous, abhorrent organization to present itself as a one that cares about the people it is actually destroying.

This book is not only offers a great portrait into depression how it can change someone, but is also just a joy to read. Dinavahi is a brilliant writer — she is witty and reflective, but also speaks about some of her most difficult moments with grace and care.

This is a harrowing story of how a person tries to help someone and that "help" ends up taking over that person's life.

I thought that cult was a bit too strong of a word in the beginning, because it didn't seem like it there was that many people involved. I did wonder how Bob got to be so influential....there was no follow up at the end of the book about what happened to the cult.

When the author gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby...I was screaming inside my head...NO! STOP! DON"T DO IT!

When the author had to call bob every day, I again shook my head, NO! DON"T DO IT!

I really loved the self reflection the author did at the end of the book, it helped to explain what was happening and why it happened.

Overall, I thought this was an eye opening book. Being in a cult, usually doesn't happen overnight. Its gradual, its subtle, you don't realize that its happening till its too late.

This book should be read by ANYONE interested in cults and people who are worried that they may be in a cult.

This is one of the darkest memoirs I have ever read, if not the darkest. I definitely plan to read this, but need to pick it back up at a later time because this one is truly that dark.

With that being said, I can tell this will likely end up being one of my favorite books of all time. It's written really well, is captivating and there is a bit of dark humor thrown in. Even though I know I shouldn't read it right now, I really want to. I think having conversations around cults is also important. There are a lot of really important messages and bits of information to be told from this book, and it truly deserves to shine, it just definitely needs to be read when a reader is prepared for what's ahead.

I feel odd rating a memoir, so it gets 5 stars.

Content warnings: very detailed attempts of $ewuicide

Thank you for allowing me to read this in advance of its publication! This is my honest opinion I am leaving voluntarily.