It's Not A Cult: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

Mona Awad's All's Well meets Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt in Lauren Danhof's darkly humorous debut, in which a daughter races to save her mother from a dangerous cult before it's too late. Glinda Glass is truly trying her best. After dropping out of her graduate school program, she moves back to her childhood home with her mom-who has not only joined a cult, the Starlight Pioneer Society, but has also become enraptured by its charismatic and menacing leader, Arlon. Meanwhile, Glinda spends her days working in the Drench-the-Wench dunk booth at the local Renaissance fair with her only friend Troy-who may be falling in love with her. When Glinda learns that the cult will be turning her family's home into their commune, she decides to take matters into her own hands-by infiltrating the cult and taking it down from the inside. There, she realizes things are far more sinister than she could have ever imagined and that she must get her mom out from under the spell of Arlon by any means necessary. But Glinda can't do it on her own; to save her mother, she'll have to confront her own history of trauma and grief, and repair her relationships with her sisters and Troy, no matter the cost.

Reviews

Praise for Its Not a Cult:
Danhof has created a main character both hilarious and deliciously flawed. Its Not A Cult had me laughing out loud and crying in equal measure.
Leslie Lutz, author of Fractured Tide

Equally comedic and thoughtful, Its Not a Cult is a bighearted ode to finding love and forgiveness amid sect madness and a Bigfoot hunt. Lauren Danhofs debut is a quirky, endearing gem.
Brooke Fossey, author of The Big Finish

This book is the perfect balance of heart-wrenching and heart-warming, funny and sad, and it also somehow manages to be chock full of exciting surprises. It is a story of self-discovery and human connection, and how one is not possible without the other. I love Glinda so much, and I love that she would hate me for saying that. She is the prickly, funny, well-meaning, f*****-up heroine of my dreams!
Eden Robins, author of When Franny Stands Up

Author Bio

Lauren Danhof got her BA in English from the University of the Incarnate Word and her MA in English literature from Texas Tech University. She lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with her patient husband, Robert; her two girls; and her two rescue kitties.