Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life
Sarah Edmondson
Sep 2019 · Hachette Audio · Narrated by Sarah Edmondson
4.5star
13 reviewsreport
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7 hr 43 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
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.
• Readers 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 read 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.
"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.
• Readers 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 read 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.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
13 reviews
Jennifer Graziano
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May 31, 2025
Origin of the alphabet; number line, computer is the same place. There isn't a calendar without a programmer; different ones in society are for companies to supply basic utilities; motor vehicles, food clothes & shelter. Computer programs give the answers to outstanding questions; humans do not. They also drive all artificial moving objects; humans do not. One program designs all the building and a different one does cars; the program includes after they are built schedules for them and us. Cameras are a derivative of computer separate from video recorder for unreal pictures and photograph obstructing justice to disappear or vanish includes video tapes & DVD's.
Lorraine Woiak
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December 6, 2024
Powerful story of trauma, control, and (eventually) self-discovery and healing.
FREEDOM_IS_NEVER_FREE
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August 6, 2025
🐂💩
About the author
Sarah Edmondson is an actress and voice-over artist. She is featured in the CBC investigative podcast Uncover: Escaping NXIVM and The Vow, the HBO documentary series on NXIVM.
Kristine Gasbarre is the author of the memoir How to Love an American Man, as well as the co-writer of the #1 New York Times bestselling Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra. Her work has been featured in such media outlets as People, Glamour, and the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Kristine Gasbarre is the author of the memoir How to Love an American Man, as well as the co-writer of the #1 New York Times bestselling Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra. Her work has been featured in such media outlets as People, Glamour, and the Oprah Winfrey Network.
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