Episode 406: Cult Families

Welcome back to the show. We are so glad you are here, joining us for the book group discussion!

Each week we talk  about books and about different genres, and provide useful information for library people doing Reader’s Advisory work. There are so many books out there that it’s tough to be an expert on all of them. So we pick a new genre each week to chat about and hopefully provide you with some insight into what may be an unfamiliar genre!

This week we look at books on cult families.

Who is joining us this week?  Our returning Guest Host is Lydia  from CMLE and the Great River Library System.

Beverages:

Each week we like to connect the theme of our books with our beverages, and we each came prepared with our own drink to enjoy while we talk about our books. You are an important part of this book group, so if you don’t have a beverage go ahead and get one now. Each of our beverages will have a recipe or a link on our episode page, so you can try them yourself!

This week we have some potentially disturbing books to discuss, so our beverages are designed to be appropriate for anyone in your family and may give you a little health boost to ensure you are ready to read even more books!

Homemade Slow Cooker Caramel Apple Cider

An easy and delicious recipe for slow-cooked apple cider. Just combine the ingredients and walk away! And then, a recipe for caramel apple cider, with a shot of bourbon for the adventurous.

TO MAKE THE CIDER:

TO MAKE THE DRINKS:

  • 2 tsp caramel sauce
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 shot bourbon, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Core and slice the apples, then place in a 6-qt slow cooker with the water, cloves, allspice, and water. Cover and cook on high for 8 hours.
  • While the cider is cooking, make the caramel sauce. When finished, pour into a glass jar or heat-proof container and cover lightly to cool. Don’t screw a cap on too tight or you’ll have a fun time taking the cap off after it is done cooling.
  • When the cider is finished, strain into a pitcher or a few large jars. You have a couple options here – for a semi-clear cider, you can strain it through a colander into a bowl (this is what I did). If you want it to be rather clear, strain in through some cheesecloth (this can take a while).
  • To make the drinks, combine 2 tsp caramel sauce and 1 cup of the cider. Mix, taste, and add more caramel if you want.
  • If you’re feeling frisky, add a shot of bourbon to the caramel cider, and enjoy!

Passion Fruit Cocktail Recipe: A Taste Of Sweet Passion

Citrus and ginger are known for their detoxifying properties. Fresh fruit juices and vegetable juices are full of vitamins, and mint is said to be very good for a cold or upset stomach.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces fresh passion fruit juice*
  • 1/2 ounce orange juice
  • 1/2 ounce 1/2 grapefruit juice
  • 1/4 ounce 1/4 freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 3 teaspoons sugar adjust to taste
  •  fresh mint for garnish put a whole stalk in so the flavor can absorb a little into the drink

Instructions

  1. Chill cocktail shaker and large wine goblets in the freezer.
  2. Shake all ingredients in the chilled cocktail shaker, along with a glassful of crushed ice.
  3. When the cocktail shaker has turned white, pour content into a large chilled wine goblet without straining.
  4. Garnish with mint stalk and passion fruit seed, add a large wide straw, and serve immediately.

 Mint, Lime And Ginger Splash

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup fresh ginger minced
  • 1/2 cup washed and fresh mint leaves packed and chopped
  • 1/2 cup honey (you can adjust this more or less according to your taste in sweetness)
  • 2 cups boiling spring water
  • 1/3 cup fresh lime juice or lemon or both!
  • 1 1/2 cups sparkling mineral water or soda water
  •  ice cubes
  •  Fresh mint leaves for garnish

Servings: 4 people

Instructions

  1. Combine chopped ginger, mint and honey in medium bowl.
  2. Add boiling water and let steep for 30 minutes to bring out all the essential oils.
  3. With a cloth strainer, strain the liquid into a container that will hold 4 cups. While doing this take a spoon and press the ingredients into the strainer to extract all the flavors.
  4. Add fresh lime juice (make sure the limes feel soft and not hard when purchasing them to ensure they are nice and juicy) and enough chilled sparkling water to make 4 cups of liquid in total.
  5. Stir gently, you don’t want to break all the bubbles.
  6. Fill glasses with ice cubes .
  7. Add your non-alcoholic cocktail mixture.
  8. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and/or lime or lemon slices, being sure the oil of the lime is twisted into the drink.

Recipe Notes

Serve in a low ball glass (the short yet wide varieties, this will insure the oil from the lime twist will easily land inside). You can also put them in the freezer first to frost them and make the drink extra cold and pretty.

Genre Discussion:

This is a genre filled with all kinds of interesting books. Some are sad, some are scary, some are uplifting. We are not being pejorative about these families by grouping them into this week’s genre – we approach all these books with admiration for the lessons learned and the adventures we can share. Not everyone involved in an organization labeled as a cult is damaged by it, but the more exciting stories tend to be the ones made into books.  And the line between “religion” and “cult” can be very fine, and may depend on the perspective of the person telling their own story.

We suggest all of the books we are sharing today, to read yourself or to recommend to people who want suggestions on interesting or unusual family stories!

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders, by Vincent Bugliosi

In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s Family, by Nansook Hong

The Family: the shocking true story of a notorious cult, by Chris Johnston

The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple, by Jeff Guinn

Heaven’s Gate: America’s UFO Religion by Benjamin E. Zeller

Geek Love: A Novel, by Katherine Dunn

The World in Flames: A Black Boyhood in a White Supremacist Doomsday Cult, by Jerald Walker

Deliverance at Hand!: The Redemption of a Devout Jehovah’s Witness, by James Zimmerman

Suggested Reading Resources:

Conclusion:

Thanks so much for joining us this week for the book group! It’s always better when you are here with us.

Be sure you are subscribed to this podcast to get every episode, genre, and book suggestion dropped right into your favorite app. And you can check out our shownotes for each episode to get all the info we discussed, along with the links to more resources. Every episode we have created is on our website: cmle.org.

Join us next week for more genre discussions!