"A must read" is how foremost cult exit counselor Steven Hassan describes the recent book, Amway Motivational Organizations: Behind the Smoke and Mirrors, by Ruth Carter.

In a statement released on July 12, Hassan writes:

"Ruth Carter's new book, Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors, is a must read for those who want to know what is wrong about Amway Motivational Organizations. Her first hand experience documents what is wrong with the system: false promises; exploitation of people and their hopes and dreams; wasted time and money; incredible amounts of pain and suffering for many involved.

"Beware 'business opportunities' that use mind control techniques and methods that undermine independent thinking! These groups use control of Behavior, Information, Thought and Emotions (BITE) to create a pseudo-identity based on the company identity which destroys free will. Mind control techniques such as thought-stopping and installation of phobias can short-circuit even the most intelligent person's ability to question those in authority. Most people think of religious cults, but mind control groups can be political, psychotherapy, 'educational' or even commercial in their public agenda. It is the practices of deception and mind control that determines a group's destructiveness. Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors helps the public see the reality used by those involved with one of the largest commercial entities on Earth."

Sickened by what she discovered during nearly 15 years as an Amway distributor, with five years' working in the office of a "Diamond" level distributor, Ms. Carter wrote the book to document the far-reaching abuses, deceptions and frauds that permeate the Amway distributor organizations from the top levels down. In addition, she maintains a website, called The MLM Survivors Homepage at www.mlmsurvivor.com, where she makes information available about multi-level marketing organizations. She has appeared on many radio and TV broadcasts, including recent interviews on "The Golden Hour" radio show in Melbourne,FL; "On the Job," a syndicated radio talk show about work; and "Dateline Sarasota" with Kerry Kirschner. Ruth Carter is the author of The MLM Survivors Homepage.

Steven Hassan has been involved in educating the public about mind control and destructive cults for over twenty-three years. He is a licensed Mental Health Counselor, and holds a masters degree in counseling psychology from Cambridge College. He wrote the critically acclaimed book, Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves. Steven founded the Resource Center for Freedom of Mind, an educational organization dedicated to upholding human rights, promoting consumer awareness and exposing abuses of destructive cult groups. 

This page updated Jul-15-00