Funnily enough I’ve just started reading Scarred about someone leaving the nxivm cult. One chapter in and it’s very interesting. I’ve also previously read Leah Reminis book on escaping scientology, which is a lighter read. She also did an AMA which I recommend.

Cults can be religious, political, yoga, self help etc. The important thing is the presence of coercive control. It’s a generally slow and subtle way of trapping the victim by getting information to blackmail them, changing how they think and grinding their self esteem down.

Cults do this on an organisational scale. Scientology records you talking about your deepest, darkest secrets. Other cults get naked photos, or get you to commit crimes and film you doing it. They really change how you think, so make you believe if you leave them, you’ll burn in hell or similar. If you stay, you’re morally superior. They keep you busy with seminars, work, sermons etc so you are totally isolated. Anyone that leaves has to overcome all that control which I thought Leah described well.

There’s !exchristian@lemmy.one - it’s mostly memes, so you’ll have to scroll past a lot of those, but there are a few text posts of first-hand accounts scattered throughout.