The Culting of America Author Event

The Garden District Book Shop welcomes author, TEDx Speaker, sex-cult survivor, US Army Combat Veteran, and extremely advanced knitter Daniella Mestyanek Young to the shop on May 8 for an evening celebrating the local launch of her book Culting of America: What Makes a Cult and Why We Love Them.

The evening will begin at 6:00 PM. After a book discussion, Young will answer guest’s questions and personalize copies of her book. The event is free and open to the public but interested parties are encouraged to RSVP and reserve their copies of Culting of America: What Makes a Cult and Why We Love Them ahead of time on Eventbrite.

ABOUT THE BOOK

You're probably in a cult. You just don't know it yet.
Most of us think we'd never fall for a cult. We picture robes, chanting, and remote compounds. But toxic groups don't just exist on the fringe. They thrive in boardrooms, group chats, fitness classes, political rallies, religious groups, and corporate retreats-anywhere we seek identity, purpose, and belonging. The Culting of America reveals how cultish behavior isn't just thriving in modern life-it's hiding in plain sight, woven deep into the fabric of American identity.
In The Culting of America, cult survivor, scholar, and former Army intelligence officer Daniella Mestyanek Young-author of the bestselling memoir Uncultured-teams up with award-winning writer Amy Reed to dismantle the illusion that cults are rare or easy to spot. Blending gripping personal narrative, cultural critique, and deep research, they introduce the cultiness spectrum: a ten-part framework that reveals how coercive group behavior shows up across all kinds of groups-from extremist movements to our most trusted institutions-exploring the fine line between community and control, devotion and exploitation, and leadership and manipulation.
Whether you're part of a church, company, fandom, or political movement, the question isn't if you're in a cult. It's how much of yourself you've already lost.

Daniella Mestyanek Young is a cult survivor, U.S. Army veteran, Harvard-trained organizational psychologist, and the author of two books about high-control groups-Uncultured, her critically-acclaimed memoir, and The Culting of America: What Makes a Cult and Why We Love Them.
She now lives in Maryland with her 10-year-old teenager (it's a vibe), a retired special operations helicopter pilot turned plant scientist, and a Republican dog. She spends most of her time trying to build groups that don't destroy people-and helping others figure out how to leave the ones that do.

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