A Little Bit Culty

Navigating Cults, Control and Coercion

De: Sarah Edmondson, Nippy Ames

Narrado por: Sarah Edmondson, Anthony "Nippy" Ames

Culty shit is everywhere—and this book shows you how to spot it, escape it, and heal from it.

From former NXIVM insiders turned whistleblowers and hosts of the hit podcast A Little Bit Culty comes a gripping, practical, and surprisingly hopeful guide to understanding how manipulative people and systems get their hooks into us—and how to get your life back when they do.

Drawing from their harrowing experiences inside NXIVM, their roles in HBO's The Vow, and hundreds of conversations with survivors and experts, Sarah Edmondson and Anthony "Nippy" Ames pull back the curtain on the tactics of coercive control: love bombing, gaslighting, identity erosion, charismatic leadership, toxic spirituality, trauma bonding, and more.

Blending memoir, survivor wisdom, cultural commentary, and hard-won humor, A Little Bit Culty decodes the red flags hiding in plain sight—in relationships, workplaces, wellness communities, social media movements, churches, and anywhere someone claims to have all the answers.

Whether you're untangling your own experience, worried about someone you love, or simply curious how smart, capable people get drawn into high-control groups, this book is the compassionate, no-BS field guide you've been waiting for.

Part cautionary tale, part survival manual, and part rallying cry, A Little Bit Culty will leave you wiser, stronger, and far less likely to fall for anyone promising "transformation" at the cost of your autonomy.

Welcome to the club—the one that helps you stay out of cults.

©2026 Sarah Edmondson & Anthony "Nippy" Ames (P)2026 Sarah Edmondson & Anthony "Nippy" Ames

Excellent, entertaining, meaningful, helpful!

This book is so well written, and it's even more engaging to hear the authors read it themselves! They have both been through so much and are still willing to share deeply painful moments from their experiences in NXIVM as well as things they've learned from interviewing other cult survivors on their podcast of the same name, A Little Bit Culty. (Which I love!) Five stars, no notes.

Outstanding! An Invaluable Tool

This book is outstanding and especially important today, when algorithms lure loved ones down dark rabbit holes and extremism is rampant in our political, spiritual, religious and personal growth spaces. I love the way the book is organized, clearly outlining the strategies and techniques used by coercive personalities and groups, then using real-world examples to illustrate them. It’s easy to understand, extremely engaging to follow, never dry or clinical. Sarah and Nippy share narration duties, both are professionals so the performances are spot-on. I found this extremely educational and a must for anyone. I would recommend parents give this book to their teens, teachers can use it in their classrooms, and anyone questioning a group or relationship they are involved in can use it for a reality check. If you think you might be involved in something potentially dangerous, this book provides the tools you need to assess the situation. For everyone else, it can help you be aware of the coercive tactics that are all around us and avoid disaster.

A little bit culty is the exact book you probably don’t realize you need to read.

If only this book existed 30 years ago, I could have bypassed several lost years and avoided financially enriching a little bit, (let’s be honest) a lot of culty groups and questionable people that I had the absolute misfortune of running into. Truly, nothing says “peak life choices” quite like financially enriching a bunch of people who claim to have the secrets to the universe or the way to make a better world for everyone.If you too, have had a history of being a magnet for sketchy self improvement seminars, buy this book immediately. Your bank account, your family and your remaining friends will thank you .Choose your path to deprogramming. Kindle vs Audible. Because buying this book once wasn’t enough, I bought it twice. And honestly, the features almost make up for the years I spent chanting in the basement. Each version has unique features that the other one doesn’t contain. Audible has sidebars (first time experiencing for me-love it!) Kindle has links between the stories to the podcast interviews seasons and episodes. Much gratitude to Sarah and Nippy for their continued advocacy.This book is a modern masterclass in discernment regarding all the “recruiters” in the world and more.

Wish I had this book years ago

Just started listening this morning and I’m already on part 2! So much important information! I wish I had had this book as I was trying to navigate a toxic religious environment I found myself in 8 years ago. This book is going to help so many people ❤️

A Must Listen!

If you’re into cults, but even if you’re not, this book is a MUST read. It breaks down the patterns of every kind of coercion there is. It’s the playbook for how people get conned, manipulated and controlled and as Sarah and Nippy will tell you, it’s everywhere and can happen to anyone.