Reunion of the Good Weather Suicide Cult by Kyle McCord

    My brain jumped with joy at the word cult in the description and that was that.  Cults hold an endless fascination for me and I will read all about them.
     This one, The Good Weather cult, is a fascinating creation, one resulting in the largest cult suicide on US soil (since Jonestown massacre was in South America). Not quite Jonestown numbers either, but 137 dead, including women and children and in a way that’s considerably more horrifying. With only a sole survivor, a man left to try to rebuild his life from the ashes.
     Tom Duncan didn’t mean to join a cult, he was dragged into it by his wife, one of the original devotees. But he stayed in it, for decades, and now being the only one left alive he is a punching bag of public outrage, anguish and disdain. Tom tries to start over with his now adult daughter and young grandchild, but there’s too much ugliness surrounding him, it isn’t safe for him or his family. And so in interest of closure he attends the eponymous reunion and during the few emotionally charged days attempts to sort out all of the unclaimed baggage left to him by his past. It doesn’t go smoothly, trauma processing seldom does, but it’s a necessary journey for Tom, one that may lead to redemption and a way forward in his life.
     Cult or not (although given a choice, cult every time), this was a very good dramatic story. The extraordinary circumstances of its protagonist’s life made for a very engaging, emotional read. It was well written and featured fascinatingly complex characters. There are so many cult stories that focus on the cult itself and here the focus was on the aftermath, not the tragedy of dying, but the tragedy or survival. The author did that very cleverly, reminding the audience that the survivor, while vilified by the public opinion, is actually also a victim.
     The narrative is interspersed with the excerpts of the popular true crime style documentary about the cult, which was very cleverly done too. I don’t watch that sort of television, it’s too tawdry, too prurient, too emotionally manipulative. But it’s very popular and it’s easy to understand why…there’s a lot of interest in such aberrant behavior and mentality.  Cults and serial killers are what sells. But for me, I’ll take the fictionized, fictional option.
     A very good book. I’d enjoy it a lot more if the publisher’s advanced reading copy was properly formatted, but it was readable as is. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
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