The Followers

"""Cult leaders believe they are special individuals over and above everyone else. They believe they should be listened to, obeyed and envied; they are almost all pathological narcissists. Radhia Gleis has written a book that deftly weaves poignant personal stories that are astonishingly candid, and at times very familiar. She inter-weaves this intimate and intense life story with the analysis of how a malignant narcissistic cult leader who was able to lead a group of people down the Primrose Path, and how this illustrates the way in which Donald Trump became so powerful in American politics. As a former member of a cult this book really hit home for me. The similarities between the Cult leader, and Donald Trump both emerge as individuals with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder who found a population that needed a leader to take over the responsibilities of life for them and tell them what to do. They become dictatorial and exploitative. This is an illuminating story of a person's realization of how outside influences guided her path and her eventual escape from all that disillusionment."" -Gregory Tyler, Geosciences/Physics/Engineering/AP Environmental Science Palm Desert High School ""The Followers is a personal account and accomplished study of how regular people can find themselves in a cult without even being aware of it, simply in their search for meaning and connection in a superficial world. The writing is intelligent, vulnerable, humorous, and compassionate, and the parallels to present-day cults of personality are unmistakable. This is such an important book in these times that I alternately laughed and cried while reading it."" -Alighta Averbukh L.Ac, MSOM, Life Coach"