Cracking the Cult Code for Therapists

Cracking the Cult Code for Therapists

Author: Bonnie Zieman

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2017-06-16

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781546894681

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People who have been subjected to exploitation, isolation and thought control in a cult and who work up the courage to leave, do so with many psychological and emotional wounds. Many of them seek out therapy to help recover from the damaging after-effects. Unfortunately, cult victims often report that therapists just do not seem to 'get' all that they endured in the cult, and all the challenges they face once out of the cult. In fact, many cult victims abandon therapy, feeling that their therapist just did not understand the the degree to which they had been controlled, repressed, exploited and abused. Many recount that they felt their experience seemed to be discounted as something they just needed to put behind them. Due to the advent of the Internet and the easy access to information it provides, more and more cult members are discovering just how much they have been deceived, coerced and abused. As they make their exit from high-control groups, extremist religions and cults, a whole new psychotherapy client population is looking for help to recover their emotional well-being, intellectual independence and ability to function in the world outside of the cult. Since most psychologists and psychotherapists do not receive much, if any, instruction about cult dynamics and the destructive effects of such intrusive dynamics on cult members, therapists may be ill-equipped to truly understand and help this unique and growing client population. With this book, Bonnie Zieman, a former cult member, a recently retired psychotherapist, and the author of four other books on recovery from high-control abuse, provides a useful reference tool for therapists who need to inform themselves about cult abuse and its aftermath. This one-of-a-kind book offers a summary outline of typical cult controls and the probable resulting effects on those subjected to them. Therapists can use this book as a primer to bring themselves up to speed on the topic - until such time as they decide if they want to take more formal training in order to help former cult members reclaim their authentic self and rebuild a self-directed life.


Book Synopsis Cracking the Cult Code for Therapists by : Bonnie Zieman

Download or read book Cracking the Cult Code for Therapists written by Bonnie Zieman and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-06-16 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People who have been subjected to exploitation, isolation and thought control in a cult and who work up the courage to leave, do so with many psychological and emotional wounds. Many of them seek out therapy to help recover from the damaging after-effects. Unfortunately, cult victims often report that therapists just do not seem to 'get' all that they endured in the cult, and all the challenges they face once out of the cult. In fact, many cult victims abandon therapy, feeling that their therapist just did not understand the the degree to which they had been controlled, repressed, exploited and abused. Many recount that they felt their experience seemed to be discounted as something they just needed to put behind them. Due to the advent of the Internet and the easy access to information it provides, more and more cult members are discovering just how much they have been deceived, coerced and abused. As they make their exit from high-control groups, extremist religions and cults, a whole new psychotherapy client population is looking for help to recover their emotional well-being, intellectual independence and ability to function in the world outside of the cult. Since most psychologists and psychotherapists do not receive much, if any, instruction about cult dynamics and the destructive effects of such intrusive dynamics on cult members, therapists may be ill-equipped to truly understand and help this unique and growing client population. With this book, Bonnie Zieman, a former cult member, a recently retired psychotherapist, and the author of four other books on recovery from high-control abuse, provides a useful reference tool for therapists who need to inform themselves about cult abuse and its aftermath. This one-of-a-kind book offers a summary outline of typical cult controls and the probable resulting effects on those subjected to them. Therapists can use this book as a primer to bring themselves up to speed on the topic - until such time as they decide if they want to take more formal training in order to help former cult members reclaim their authentic self and rebuild a self-directed life.

The Challenge to Heal

The Challenge to Heal

Author: Bonnie Zieman

Publisher:

Published: 2016-10-19

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781535313827

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In an age and culture that places high value on personal freedom, it is shocking to discover how many intelligent, competent people find themselves caught in the suffocating, sticky webs of oppressive, high-control groups. Coercive, manipulative organizations can include groups such as: extremist fundamentalist sects, terrorist organizations, radical political movements, polygamist communes, human trafficking rings, doomsday cults, multi-marketing schemes, criminal gangs, and so many more. When brave souls dare to leave such high-control groups, they exit needing to reclaim their life, mind, identity, autonomy, emotional equilibrium and to heal the wounds that result from being manipulated, coerced, abused and exploited. The Challenge to Heal is designed to help anyone recover from the inevitable consequences of losing control over one's life - consequences such as issues with self-esteem, anger, learned helplessness, depression, fear, guilt, self-recrimination, psychosomatic ailments, to name but a few. Chapters in this unique recovery guide cover topics such as: understanding and managing the predictable challenges of breaking with a once valued belief system, Utopian goals, and fellow group members; learning to cope with the difficult emotions that will arise; dealing with gui


Book Synopsis The Challenge to Heal by : Bonnie Zieman

Download or read book The Challenge to Heal written by Bonnie Zieman and published by . This book was released on 2016-10-19 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an age and culture that places high value on personal freedom, it is shocking to discover how many intelligent, competent people find themselves caught in the suffocating, sticky webs of oppressive, high-control groups. Coercive, manipulative organizations can include groups such as: extremist fundamentalist sects, terrorist organizations, radical political movements, polygamist communes, human trafficking rings, doomsday cults, multi-marketing schemes, criminal gangs, and so many more. When brave souls dare to leave such high-control groups, they exit needing to reclaim their life, mind, identity, autonomy, emotional equilibrium and to heal the wounds that result from being manipulated, coerced, abused and exploited. The Challenge to Heal is designed to help anyone recover from the inevitable consequences of losing control over one's life - consequences such as issues with self-esteem, anger, learned helplessness, depression, fear, guilt, self-recrimination, psychosomatic ailments, to name but a few. Chapters in this unique recovery guide cover topics such as: understanding and managing the predictable challenges of breaking with a once valued belief system, Utopian goals, and fellow group members; learning to cope with the difficult emotions that will arise; dealing with gui

EXiting the JW Cult: a Healing Handbook

EXiting the JW Cult: a Healing Handbook

Author: Bonnie Zieman

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2015-05-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781508477136

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The author, raised as Jehovah's Witness, outlines the challenges of leaving the sect and provides valuable advice to others who have recently, or wish to leave.


Book Synopsis EXiting the JW Cult: a Healing Handbook by : Bonnie Zieman

Download or read book EXiting the JW Cult: a Healing Handbook written by Bonnie Zieman and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015-05-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author, raised as Jehovah's Witness, outlines the challenges of leaving the sect and provides valuable advice to others who have recently, or wish to leave.

Cracking Your Church's Culture Code

Cracking Your Church's Culture Code

Author: Samuel R. Chand

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-09-14

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 0470872977

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Strategies for transforming a toxic church culture Why is it that the best strategic plans and good leadership often are not able to move churches in the desired direction? Sam Chand contends that toxic culture is to blame. Quite often, leaders don't sense the toxicity, but it poisons their relationships and derails their vision. This work describes five easily identifiable categories of church culture (inspiring-accepting-stagnant-discouraging-toxic), with diagnostic descriptions in the book and a separate online assessment tool. The reader will be able to identify strengths and needs of their church's culture, and then apply practical strategies (communication, control and authority, selection and placement of personnel, etc.) to make their church's culture more positive. Discusses how to diagnose the state of a church's culture Reveals what it takes to put in place effective strategies for creating a more positive church culture Author served on the board of EQUIP (Dr. John Maxwell's Ministry), equipping five million leaders world-wide. This important book offers a clear guide for understanding and recreating a healthy church culture.


Book Synopsis Cracking Your Church's Culture Code by : Samuel R. Chand

Download or read book Cracking Your Church's Culture Code written by Samuel R. Chand and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-09-14 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Strategies for transforming a toxic church culture Why is it that the best strategic plans and good leadership often are not able to move churches in the desired direction? Sam Chand contends that toxic culture is to blame. Quite often, leaders don't sense the toxicity, but it poisons their relationships and derails their vision. This work describes five easily identifiable categories of church culture (inspiring-accepting-stagnant-discouraging-toxic), with diagnostic descriptions in the book and a separate online assessment tool. The reader will be able to identify strengths and needs of their church's culture, and then apply practical strategies (communication, control and authority, selection and placement of personnel, etc.) to make their church's culture more positive. Discusses how to diagnose the state of a church's culture Reveals what it takes to put in place effective strategies for creating a more positive church culture Author served on the board of EQUIP (Dr. John Maxwell's Ministry), equipping five million leaders world-wide. This important book offers a clear guide for understanding and recreating a healthy church culture.

Shunned

Shunned

Author: Bonnie Zieman

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2018-03-22

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 9781983942372

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Many studies have been published about the effects of shunning or ostracism on the person shunned but there are few books, if any, written specifically to offer help to the individual suffering from this sort of inhumane treatment. Granted there are books about how to cope with being bullied and/or marginalized in the workplace or at school. This book, however, directs its help to people who are subjected to mandated, open-ended shunning by religions, quasi-religions, cults and other extreme groups. Mandated shunning requires that members of a group reject, ignore, isolate and refuse to associate with, or even talk to the person "marked" by the group's leadership. Members of these groups or cults are expected to shun members of their own families if they dare to question dogma or refuse to participate in certain group activities or practices. Enforced ostracism removes all sense of belonging and community from the person ostracized. Mandated shunning weaponizes a person's need for belonging against them. It is an anti-social punishment that has been the cause of much suffering, including many attempted suicides and successful suicides. This book, of course, cannot remove the mandate for shunning against a person, but it will give the person many ways to cope with the psychological and emotional effects of being rejected and disowned. Readers will learn how to restore an inner sense of safety, security, and calm after losing family, friends and resources normally supplied by community. This book will also explain how simple strategies can down-regulate the fight/flight or freeze states of the autonomic nervous system when one loses all access to beloved family members. Due to the adversity and stress of mandated shunning, many who suffer under its merciless application suffer from anxiety, panic, anger, guilt, depression, and suicidal ideation. This book offers helpful techniques to cope with and minimize these debilitating effects of having family and friends arbitrarily torn away. Anyone being ostracized will experience social isolation for a while. This book offers many practical suggestions on how to reach out and build a new social network. There are many things that can be done while being subjected to prolonged shunning to cope with the loneliness and grief and to learn how to create a meaningful life. This survival guide is designed for former members of groups that shun such as The Church of Scientology, The Amish, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, FLDS, Hasidism, Islam, etc., etc. It matters not which group is excluding and shunning you - the strategies to deal with the isolation, grief, trauma, and despair are the same. If you find yourself alone and lonely suffering under this cruel practice of shunning, this book can act as a companion and survival guide. Many of us have survived shunning and are now thriving despite still being shunned. SHUNNED: A Survival Guide will help you survive and thrive too.


Book Synopsis Shunned by : Bonnie Zieman

Download or read book Shunned written by Bonnie Zieman and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-03-22 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many studies have been published about the effects of shunning or ostracism on the person shunned but there are few books, if any, written specifically to offer help to the individual suffering from this sort of inhumane treatment. Granted there are books about how to cope with being bullied and/or marginalized in the workplace or at school. This book, however, directs its help to people who are subjected to mandated, open-ended shunning by religions, quasi-religions, cults and other extreme groups. Mandated shunning requires that members of a group reject, ignore, isolate and refuse to associate with, or even talk to the person "marked" by the group's leadership. Members of these groups or cults are expected to shun members of their own families if they dare to question dogma or refuse to participate in certain group activities or practices. Enforced ostracism removes all sense of belonging and community from the person ostracized. Mandated shunning weaponizes a person's need for belonging against them. It is an anti-social punishment that has been the cause of much suffering, including many attempted suicides and successful suicides. This book, of course, cannot remove the mandate for shunning against a person, but it will give the person many ways to cope with the psychological and emotional effects of being rejected and disowned. Readers will learn how to restore an inner sense of safety, security, and calm after losing family, friends and resources normally supplied by community. This book will also explain how simple strategies can down-regulate the fight/flight or freeze states of the autonomic nervous system when one loses all access to beloved family members. Due to the adversity and stress of mandated shunning, many who suffer under its merciless application suffer from anxiety, panic, anger, guilt, depression, and suicidal ideation. This book offers helpful techniques to cope with and minimize these debilitating effects of having family and friends arbitrarily torn away. Anyone being ostracized will experience social isolation for a while. This book offers many practical suggestions on how to reach out and build a new social network. There are many things that can be done while being subjected to prolonged shunning to cope with the loneliness and grief and to learn how to create a meaningful life. This survival guide is designed for former members of groups that shun such as The Church of Scientology, The Amish, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, FLDS, Hasidism, Islam, etc., etc. It matters not which group is excluding and shunning you - the strategies to deal with the isolation, grief, trauma, and despair are the same. If you find yourself alone and lonely suffering under this cruel practice of shunning, this book can act as a companion and survival guide. Many of us have survived shunning and are now thriving despite still being shunned. SHUNNED: A Survival Guide will help you survive and thrive too.

REBOOT After Recovery From Trauma

REBOOT After Recovery From Trauma

Author: Bonnie Zieman

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2020-11-27

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13:

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Having been subjected to the trauma of abuse, exploitation, or undue control in a family or group requires a significant period of recovery. Wounds run deep. Self-esteem is damaged. Opportunities are lost. Fears are awakened. The ability to trust and feel safe in the world is impaired. There is much to grieve. There is much to retrieve - much to recover - deep hurts to heal. It is challenging to function and create a new life while recovering from such trauma. Expectations, hopes, dreams and goals may have been put on hold during the recovery process.However, once recovered, life free from abuse and exploitation may not seem as meaningful, productive, or gratifying as anticipated. It is easy to still feel stuck in old patterns developed as necessary defenses during the abuse, and even the recovery period. Habitual patterns of thought and behavior need to be re-considered in order to fully step into a new, free life. This book, on how to effect a psychological reboot, will help you review adversity-driven ways of perceiving the world and operating in it. Challenging long-held assumptions with the help of hacks in this book will help recalibrate persistent, often unconscious, ways of being. This book will not only help you embrace new ways of perceiving and thinking, it will also prompt you to reconsider old values and assumptions that still drive your choices, decisions and actions, and find ways to release and replace the ones that no longer serve your best interests.This reboot guide will help you discover ways to re-imagine the options now open to you. You will be challenged to assume responsibility for telling yourself the truth, to recalibrate your relationship with residues of pain and guilt, and to manage the anxiety that invariably arises when one entertains new possibilities. Practical tools and exercises are provided to help map your way forward (in whatever unique way that might be for you) and to get unstuck. The importance of gifting yourself with new experiences, which rewire the brain away from the exhausting and sometimes paralyzing effects of trauma, are highlighted throughout.Especially valuable are therapist-designed questions, distributed throughout the book, which will prompt you to reflect more deeply about old beliefs, unreasonable expectations, and counterproductive patterns of action/inaction that hold you back from designing and living your best life. You will also learn about personas or ego-states you may be using to help you cope that no longer serve you, and how to free yourself from their grip. Ways to quiet your inner critic will be shared, as will ways to resurrect the authentic self you had to bury to survive the abusive milieu. If, after recovery from the trauma of abuse, undue controls, and/or exploitation you are feeling stuck, stalled or unsatisfied, this book provides compelling ways to refresh and reboot your life.


Book Synopsis REBOOT After Recovery From Trauma by : Bonnie Zieman

Download or read book REBOOT After Recovery From Trauma written by Bonnie Zieman and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2020-11-27 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having been subjected to the trauma of abuse, exploitation, or undue control in a family or group requires a significant period of recovery. Wounds run deep. Self-esteem is damaged. Opportunities are lost. Fears are awakened. The ability to trust and feel safe in the world is impaired. There is much to grieve. There is much to retrieve - much to recover - deep hurts to heal. It is challenging to function and create a new life while recovering from such trauma. Expectations, hopes, dreams and goals may have been put on hold during the recovery process.However, once recovered, life free from abuse and exploitation may not seem as meaningful, productive, or gratifying as anticipated. It is easy to still feel stuck in old patterns developed as necessary defenses during the abuse, and even the recovery period. Habitual patterns of thought and behavior need to be re-considered in order to fully step into a new, free life. This book, on how to effect a psychological reboot, will help you review adversity-driven ways of perceiving the world and operating in it. Challenging long-held assumptions with the help of hacks in this book will help recalibrate persistent, often unconscious, ways of being. This book will not only help you embrace new ways of perceiving and thinking, it will also prompt you to reconsider old values and assumptions that still drive your choices, decisions and actions, and find ways to release and replace the ones that no longer serve your best interests.This reboot guide will help you discover ways to re-imagine the options now open to you. You will be challenged to assume responsibility for telling yourself the truth, to recalibrate your relationship with residues of pain and guilt, and to manage the anxiety that invariably arises when one entertains new possibilities. Practical tools and exercises are provided to help map your way forward (in whatever unique way that might be for you) and to get unstuck. The importance of gifting yourself with new experiences, which rewire the brain away from the exhausting and sometimes paralyzing effects of trauma, are highlighted throughout.Especially valuable are therapist-designed questions, distributed throughout the book, which will prompt you to reflect more deeply about old beliefs, unreasonable expectations, and counterproductive patterns of action/inaction that hold you back from designing and living your best life. You will also learn about personas or ego-states you may be using to help you cope that no longer serve you, and how to free yourself from their grip. Ways to quiet your inner critic will be shared, as will ways to resurrect the authentic self you had to bury to survive the abusive milieu. If, after recovery from the trauma of abuse, undue controls, and/or exploitation you are feeling stuck, stalled or unsatisfied, this book provides compelling ways to refresh and reboot your life.

The Code of the Hills

The Code of the Hills

Author: Nancy Allen

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-04-15

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 0062325949

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To uncover the truth, she'll have to break the code of the hills … In the Missouri Ozarks, some things aren't talked about … even abuse. But prosecutor Elsie Arnold is determined to change that. When she is assigned to prosecute a high-profile incest case in which a father is accused of abusing his three young daughters, Elsie is ready to become the Ozarks' avenging angel. But as Elsie sinks her teeth into the case, everything begins to turn sour. The star witness goes missing; the girls refuse to talk about their father, who terrorizes the courtroom from the moment he enters; and Elsie begins to suspect that their tough-as-nails mother has ulterior motives. To make matters worse, Elsie receives gruesome threats from local extremists, warning her to mind her own business. While Elsie swears not to let a sex offender walk, she realizes the odds—and maybe the town—are against her, and her life begins to crumble. But amidst all of the conflict, the safety of three young girls hangs in the balance ... A powerful debut, with the haunting atmosphere of Winter's Bone and the page-turning suspense of Alafair Burke's thrillers.


Book Synopsis The Code of the Hills by : Nancy Allen

Download or read book The Code of the Hills written by Nancy Allen and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2014-04-15 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To uncover the truth, she'll have to break the code of the hills … In the Missouri Ozarks, some things aren't talked about … even abuse. But prosecutor Elsie Arnold is determined to change that. When she is assigned to prosecute a high-profile incest case in which a father is accused of abusing his three young daughters, Elsie is ready to become the Ozarks' avenging angel. But as Elsie sinks her teeth into the case, everything begins to turn sour. The star witness goes missing; the girls refuse to talk about their father, who terrorizes the courtroom from the moment he enters; and Elsie begins to suspect that their tough-as-nails mother has ulterior motives. To make matters worse, Elsie receives gruesome threats from local extremists, warning her to mind her own business. While Elsie swears not to let a sex offender walk, she realizes the odds—and maybe the town—are against her, and her life begins to crumble. But amidst all of the conflict, the safety of three young girls hangs in the balance ... A powerful debut, with the haunting atmosphere of Winter's Bone and the page-turning suspense of Alafair Burke's thrillers.

Cracking the Freemasons Code

Cracking the Freemasons Code

Author: Robert L.D. Cooper

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2007-09-04

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1416546820

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Respected historian and Scottish Freemason Cooper offers a rare, inside look at the secret brotherhood of the Freemasons. Readers will discover the true role the order has played throughout history, its purposes, symbolism and beliefs, and more.


Book Synopsis Cracking the Freemasons Code by : Robert L.D. Cooper

Download or read book Cracking the Freemasons Code written by Robert L.D. Cooper and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-09-04 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Respected historian and Scottish Freemason Cooper offers a rare, inside look at the secret brotherhood of the Freemasons. Readers will discover the true role the order has played throughout history, its purposes, symbolism and beliefs, and more.

The Leader in Me

The Leader in Me

Author: Stephen R. Covey

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-12-11

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 147110446X

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Children in today's world are inundated with information about who to be, what to do and how to live. But what if there was a way to teach children how to manage priorities, focus on goals and be a positive influence on the world around them? The Leader in Meis that programme. It's based on a hugely successful initiative carried out at the A.B. Combs Elementary School in North Carolina. To hear the parents of A. B Combs talk about the school is to be amazed. In 1999, the school debuted a programme that taught The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peopleto a pilot group of students. The parents reported an incredible change in their children, who blossomed under the programme. By the end of the following year the average end-of-grade scores had leapt from 84 to 94. This book will launch the message onto a much larger platform. Stephen R. Covey takes the 7 Habits, that have already changed the lives of millions of people, and shows how children can use them as they develop. Those habits -- be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek to understand and then to be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw -- are critical skills to learn at a young age and bring incredible results, proving that it's never too early to teach someone how to live well.


Book Synopsis The Leader in Me by : Stephen R. Covey

Download or read book The Leader in Me written by Stephen R. Covey and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-12-11 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children in today's world are inundated with information about who to be, what to do and how to live. But what if there was a way to teach children how to manage priorities, focus on goals and be a positive influence on the world around them? The Leader in Meis that programme. It's based on a hugely successful initiative carried out at the A.B. Combs Elementary School in North Carolina. To hear the parents of A. B Combs talk about the school is to be amazed. In 1999, the school debuted a programme that taught The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peopleto a pilot group of students. The parents reported an incredible change in their children, who blossomed under the programme. By the end of the following year the average end-of-grade scores had leapt from 84 to 94. This book will launch the message onto a much larger platform. Stephen R. Covey takes the 7 Habits, that have already changed the lives of millions of people, and shows how children can use them as they develop. Those habits -- be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek to understand and then to be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw -- are critical skills to learn at a young age and bring incredible results, proving that it's never too early to teach someone how to live well.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Author: Robin Sloan

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2012-10-02

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 1443415804

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The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a web-design drone, and serendipity, sheer curiosity and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey have landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than its name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything. Instead they “check out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he has embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behaviour and roped his friends into helping him figure out just what’s going on. But once they take their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the secrets extend far beyond the walls of the bookstore. Evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or Umberto Eco, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like—an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave.


Book Synopsis Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by : Robin Sloan

Download or read book Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore written by Robin Sloan and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-10-02 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a web-design drone, and serendipity, sheer curiosity and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey have landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than its name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything. Instead they “check out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he has embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behaviour and roped his friends into helping him figure out just what’s going on. But once they take their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the secrets extend far beyond the walls of the bookstore. Evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or Umberto Eco, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like—an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave.