VOLUME 13 |ISSUE 3 |2022 27
Book Review
Manhattan Cult Story: My
Unbelievable True Story of
Sex, Crimes, Chaos,
and Survival
By Spencer Schneider
Arcade, July 5, 2022. ISBN-10: 1950994554 ISBN-13:
978-1950994557. Hardcover, 264 pages, $15.95 (Kindle,
$17.99 also available as an Audiobook), Amazon.com
Reviewed by Donna Lamb
I was so gripped by this memoir I practically inhaled it in about
two days. One reason was personal: I spent thirty-two years
in a similar, though not secret, group—highly intellectual,
philosophical, and educational—headquartered in SoHo,
just one neighborhood to the east of Tribeca where Spencer
Schneider attended Sharon Gans’ “School.” I’m in the process
of writing my own memoir about my experience in the cult
of Aesthetic Realism, founded by Eli Siegel. Therefore, I know
just how difficult it is to do what Schneider has done: Explain
cogently for people who haven’t “been there, done that,” how
you get drawn into a cult (not realizing it is one, of course)
what keeps you there despite incredible mental, emotional,
and, in some cases, physical abuse (still thinking it’s all to make
you a better person or create a better world) and what finally
breaks the cult’s hold on you, brings you to your senses, and
gets you out. Truly, my hat is off to Schneider for having the
emotional courage, generosity of spirit, and skill to write such
a book, so that his twenty-three-year ordeal can benefit other
people’s lives.
Over the last few years, I’ve read many excellent exposés
by people who escaped cultic groups. The majority have
been about ultra-religious establishments, what could be
called hippie-type groups, or organizations that looked and
sounded peculiar in some obvious way—the stereotype of
what most people think of as a cult. One thing that makes
Schneider’s memoir useful is that it is about a cult that does
not outwardly fit the popular conception. That is partially due
to the fact that the Sharon Gans’ cult maintained the deepest
secrecy. There was no clearly identifiable personal or public
proselytizing that would tip someone off to what it was and
warn them away. Perhaps even more important, due to the
group’s terrifyingly well-honed recruitment methods, the
people in it were intelligent, well-educated, highly successful
individuals—doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, architects, and
multiple other well-respected professionals—all of whom
looked and behaved perfectly “normal,” according to our
society’s standards.
In Schneider’s telling, the Gans’ group “fished” (and is still
fishing under another name) for candidates who fit certain
criteria. His description of these criteria, based on notes he
took during his own training, is important because he not
only makes them explicit, but explains the reasoning behind
them. I paraphrase some of the points in what he calls “the
‘Recruitment Manual’” (pp. 91-92).1 Qualified candidates, he
says, should be:
• Between twenty-five and forty because “they are
already somewhat established in life but are not
crystalized or set in ways which are hard to change.”
*Gainfully employed, earning at least $100,000
annually. “No losers allowed.”
• White and straight, for, as Sharon Gans put it, “People
of color and gay people tend to have a ‘chip on their
shoulder’ and are skeptical and unwilling to be open
to the Work.” (In some cases, a gay person will be
considered if they are open to being converted to a
straight life and getting married to someone in the
group of the opposite sex.)
• Not already involved in any religious, spiritual, or
other groups because School should be “their prime
place for spirituality. The Work is a jealous mistress.
No dabblers.” Nor does the group want anyone who
is in therapy, uses drugs, or is disabled because
“these people are damaged goods. Sharon does
not have the energy to help them.” Also excluded is
anyone who is employed as a journalist, author, or in
any kind of law enforcement—or has a member of
their immediate family in one of these professions—
because they “tend to be curious or nosy by nature
and it could pose a risk to the invisibility of School. If
someone wrote about School, it would kill it.” And no
candidate can be living with a parent or sibling.
And Schneider articulates one of the most frequent
circumstances in which people are attracted to cultic groups:
Candidates must be “disappointed” in their life
or at a crossroads and looking for answers. This
…due to the group’s
terrifyingly well-honed
recruitment methods, the people in
it were intelligent, well-educated,
highly successful individuals…
Book Review
Manhattan Cult Story: My
Unbelievable True Story of
Sex, Crimes, Chaos,
and Survival
By Spencer Schneider
Arcade, July 5, 2022. ISBN-10: 1950994554 ISBN-13:
978-1950994557. Hardcover, 264 pages, $15.95 (Kindle,
$17.99 also available as an Audiobook), Amazon.com
Reviewed by Donna Lamb
I was so gripped by this memoir I practically inhaled it in about
two days. One reason was personal: I spent thirty-two years
in a similar, though not secret, group—highly intellectual,
philosophical, and educational—headquartered in SoHo,
just one neighborhood to the east of Tribeca where Spencer
Schneider attended Sharon Gans’ “School.” I’m in the process
of writing my own memoir about my experience in the cult
of Aesthetic Realism, founded by Eli Siegel. Therefore, I know
just how difficult it is to do what Schneider has done: Explain
cogently for people who haven’t “been there, done that,” how
you get drawn into a cult (not realizing it is one, of course)
what keeps you there despite incredible mental, emotional,
and, in some cases, physical abuse (still thinking it’s all to make
you a better person or create a better world) and what finally
breaks the cult’s hold on you, brings you to your senses, and
gets you out. Truly, my hat is off to Schneider for having the
emotional courage, generosity of spirit, and skill to write such
a book, so that his twenty-three-year ordeal can benefit other
people’s lives.
Over the last few years, I’ve read many excellent exposés
by people who escaped cultic groups. The majority have
been about ultra-religious establishments, what could be
called hippie-type groups, or organizations that looked and
sounded peculiar in some obvious way—the stereotype of
what most people think of as a cult. One thing that makes
Schneider’s memoir useful is that it is about a cult that does
not outwardly fit the popular conception. That is partially due
to the fact that the Sharon Gans’ cult maintained the deepest
secrecy. There was no clearly identifiable personal or public
proselytizing that would tip someone off to what it was and
warn them away. Perhaps even more important, due to the
group’s terrifyingly well-honed recruitment methods, the
people in it were intelligent, well-educated, highly successful
individuals—doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, architects, and
multiple other well-respected professionals—all of whom
looked and behaved perfectly “normal,” according to our
society’s standards.
In Schneider’s telling, the Gans’ group “fished” (and is still
fishing under another name) for candidates who fit certain
criteria. His description of these criteria, based on notes he
took during his own training, is important because he not
only makes them explicit, but explains the reasoning behind
them. I paraphrase some of the points in what he calls “the
‘Recruitment Manual’” (pp. 91-92).1 Qualified candidates, he
says, should be:
• Between twenty-five and forty because “they are
already somewhat established in life but are not
crystalized or set in ways which are hard to change.”
*Gainfully employed, earning at least $100,000
annually. “No losers allowed.”
• White and straight, for, as Sharon Gans put it, “People
of color and gay people tend to have a ‘chip on their
shoulder’ and are skeptical and unwilling to be open
to the Work.” (In some cases, a gay person will be
considered if they are open to being converted to a
straight life and getting married to someone in the
group of the opposite sex.)
• Not already involved in any religious, spiritual, or
other groups because School should be “their prime
place for spirituality. The Work is a jealous mistress.
No dabblers.” Nor does the group want anyone who
is in therapy, uses drugs, or is disabled because
“these people are damaged goods. Sharon does
not have the energy to help them.” Also excluded is
anyone who is employed as a journalist, author, or in
any kind of law enforcement—or has a member of
their immediate family in one of these professions—
because they “tend to be curious or nosy by nature
and it could pose a risk to the invisibility of School. If
someone wrote about School, it would kill it.” And no
candidate can be living with a parent or sibling.
And Schneider articulates one of the most frequent
circumstances in which people are attracted to cultic groups:
Candidates must be “disappointed” in their life
or at a crossroads and looking for answers. This
…due to the group’s
terrifyingly well-honed
recruitment methods, the people in
it were intelligent, well-educated,
highly successful individuals…
