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Scarred cover art

Scarred

Written by: Sarah Edmondson, Kristine Gasbarre
Narrated by: Sarah Edmondson
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Publisher's Summary

The shocking and subversive memoir of a 12-year-NXIVM-member-turned-whistleblower, and her inspiring true story of abuse, escape, and redemption.

"Master, would you brand me? It would be an honor."

Scarred follows actress Sarah Edmondson's account of her recruitment into the NXIVM cult, founded by Keith Raniere. It narrates in detail the 12 years she spent within the organization, during which she enrolled over 2,000 members, chronicling her breaking point and her harrowing fight to get out, help others, and heal.

  • Complete with personal photographs, this tell-all follows Sarah from the moment she takes her first NXIVM seminar, to the invitation she accepts from her best friend, Lauren Salzman, into DOS - a "secret sisterhood" within the cult - to her journey toward becoming a key witness in the federal case against its founders.
  • Listeners will learn how cults like NXIVM get started, why people get involved (and stay), and the importance of whistleblowers who bring light to illegal and unethical practices.
  • Sarah Edmondson is a Canadian actress and playwright who has starred in the CBS series Salvation and more than 12 films for the Hallmark Channel and Lifetime. She is featured in the CBC podcast Uncover: Escaping NXIVM and The Vow, the upcoming HBO documentary series on NXIVM.

Scarred isn't just about NXIVM. It is also a story about abuses of power, the role female friendships play in cults, and how sometimes the search to be "better" can override everything else.

  • A thrilling listen for fans of true crime and cults, as well as listeners of podcasts like My Favorite Murder and Up and Vanished.
  • Great for fans of Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini, Escape by Carolyn Jessop, Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill, and Bad Blood by John Carreyrou.
  • Evokes questions about friendship, ethics, good, and evil, making it a perfect selection for book clubs.

Audio edition read by the author.

©2019 Sarah Edmondson and Kristine Gasbarre (P)2019 Hachette Audio

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What listeners say about Scarred

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I could see myself there with her

This story was Phenomenal, enthralling, engaging and I couldn't turn it off. The story of NXIVM, sensational and straight out of Hollywood, all over big news & at the front of every news hour for weeks. Who could resist.

However, this story, Sarah's story is not the seedy E True Hollywood Story you would expect from a story ripped from the headline. It is an objectively engaging story, tense yes, messed up TOTALLY, but give me one woman that wouldn't blindly follow their best friend without question, and I will give you a liar. I can see myself in that room, I can relate to that feeling of wanting to be a part of something bigger than yourself, to show how strong you are regardless of what you are doing to prove it. I feel the insecurity they felt sitting there naked, I felt myself cupping my own pooch while listening as if I was there right along side them.

The story was intense, but not in a way where I felt she was ever defeated at any point of the story, yeah, Lauren persuaded her to join on Laurens word alone. The idea of collateral is not unheard as a motivator, though, sure, it normally comes in the form of maybe a swear jar, But this was her sister, her best friend, the God mother to her child, the maid of honour at her wedding, Sarah had already made that vow to Lauren a long time ago, she had entrusted the most precious things she had in her possession to Lauren, her friendship.

5 stars HIGHLY recommend.

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Thank you

Thank you Sarah for your bravery in bringing cult awareness to the masses. Your book is so helpful:)

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A must-read!

I could not believe my ears right from the first chapter. Hearing of what went on in this cult and what these women had to go through was jaw dropping. I literally listened to this book every waking hour I could until it was done, I had to know what happened next and the narrator helped paint that picture perfectly. I had no clue this cult even existed before this.

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tragic and uplifting

I loved this book. Sarah is a great voiceover actor and it shows, but she can add writer to that now. The last 30 mins drew so many tears from me. I hope Keith gets the book thrown at him. And I hope all those hurt by him can heal.

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Very powerful

I have been following Sarah’s story since 2018 but I still learned so much listening to her book. The narration is excellent in depicting her harrowing story, and helped me understand even more about how easy it is to pulled deeper into a cult.

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Amazing story! wow...

Bravo sarah on being brave enough to come forward and freeing so many other people like yourself from this cult
Not to mention helping bring these criminals to justice rather than quitely living in shame.
You Rock Sarah!!!
Randy
www.IMDb.me/RandyThomas

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A must read for those interested in NXIVM and dos

I am so glad to have purchased this title. Everyone dismisses the people who have come forward because they "joined a sex cult" when they truly believed they were joining a community who were helping to better eachother. To understand why someone let themselves be branded you need to understand everything that brought them to this point, and I believe that Sarah Edmondson does that very well in Scarred. Sarah's narration is wonderful as well!

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Awesome :)

I loved the book, Sarah, thank you for sharing your story. I'm also an avid fan of your podcast, keep up the good work!

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Eye opening and emotional

Whether you were a part of this organization or not, you can relate to this true story. Deception, having your loyalty be taken advantage of, figuring out life and how you want to live it. Trust your intuition and never stop loving.

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riveting story

I can't even imagine the pain Sarah went through...just incredible! so glad she is out of this cult.

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