At a new age festival in Byron Bay, journalist Anke Richter is finding her awakening when she meets a woman – a survivor of the New Zealand sex cult Centrepoint – who will change the course of her life and career.
Over the next ten years, Anke pursues a labyrinthine investigation into how and why cults seduce, entrap and destroy otherwise ordinary people, asking what the line is between tribe and cult, participant and perpetrator, seduction and sexual abuse. Her view on her own explorations starts to change.
From the emotional and criminal carnage of Auckland’s Centrepoint to an anti-cult conference in Manchester, the infamous Osho’s ashram in India, the tantric Agama Yoga school in remote Thailand, and culminating in a visit to the fundamentalist Christian enclave Gloriavale on the West Coast of the South Island, Anke uncovers a disturbing pattern of violence and many untold stories of suffering. Cult Trip is a powerful exploration of what really goes on inside the spiritual groups we call cults, and how to reckon with their aftermath.
‘Wild stuff. Anke Richter is one of my favourite writers, throwing herself headfirst down fascinating rabbit holes and blurring the line between participant and reporter.’
David Farrier, journalist behind Dark Tourist and Tickled
‘Bringing together information from around the globe, Anke Richter pinpoints the internal struggles of those coming our of cults, deliberating the harm that lingers afterwards.’
Rachel Bernstein, cult specialist and educator
‘Book of the week’
Steve Braunias, Newsroom
