It certainly wasn’t enough to dampen my enjoyment. For much of the last few weeks my face has been plastered with the same silly grin it wore in the late 80s/early 90s when ‘Sapphire & Steel’ was released on VHS and I was able to revisit one of the best TV shows ever made. And ‘Scarred for Life’ has assured me that I am not alone in that opinion: not for nothing are theirs the first eyes gazing enigmatically from the cover. La forma tan intima y respetuosa que tiene Sarah de contar su historia hace que este libro no se vuelva tan pesado, si bien el tema es delicado, Sarah lo sabe llevar muy bien sin caer en el morbo, lo único que deseas es justicia.

A book about growing up in the dark side of the 70s with the darkest, most inappropriate pop culture ever. Whether, like me, you were born at the right time to grow up in the seventies, or are simply interested in seeing just how things have changed culturally in the past fifty years this is a great book.he stares, as though he’s diving into my soul and seeing every part, makes me feel like I could ask him for the world, and he’d tear it to pieces just to fit it in my hands.” The launch of Channel 4 in 1982 provided another sense that boundaries were starting to stretch. The newly launched channel made an effort – not just in the original programming it offered and commissioned, but also in showing foreign language films and unconventional animation. For example, it screened Jan Svankmajer’s Alice (which is possibly the best adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland) cut up into six parts over the 1989-1990 New Year. If you look for further information on this, you’ll understand why it may have made an impact on impressionable viewers. One of the things about the 70's was that it was absolutely a decade of boundary pushing. I've reflected on this in terms of cinema before - some of the most challenging, uncomfortable, and downright nasty films in history were made in the era. It's an era of relaxed censorship in media, of changing social attitudes to marginalised people, of social issues pushed to the forefront of popular culture. It's a decade of freedom for creative people, and yet they are experiencing a hangover of the peace and love era. In Britain at least the spectre of World War II is still remembered, and it is a decade of political and economical turmoil. What I think this led to was continual boundary pushing, and the impact of that was, that a lot of wonderful creative media was produced and aired - however, much of that would never get past a savvy media executive today. We live in an era of focus groups, of targeted advertising, of sensitivity. Parents today are hyper-sensitive to the media their children consume compared to in the past (not saying that is a good or bad thing).

Superb overview of 70's pop culture from the perspective of two writers who were schoolboys through most of it. Written not only with enthusiasm but in depth research and perspective. Great value for money too, it's more like two or three books in one. I didn't know much about NXIVM until I read this book. I was surprised to learn how many men were a part of this cult, because the news coverage described it as a sex cult with famous actresses involved. More information is available now, including the documentary, "The Vow" (at this point I've only seen the first episode). As an aside I recently introduced my daughter to 1970's Worzel Gummidge and she LOVED it, but it was strange viewing the show through a modern lens. Worzel's awakening is more akin to a Fulci zombie film, Aunt Sally, the Crowman and other scarecrows are remarkably cruel and barbaric, the children are abandoned by an alcoholic largely absent father, Babs Windsor as Saucy Nancy is remarkably cheeky 70's smut, Worzel's head removing is terrifying and of course Worzel's kindly threatening of Aunt Sally plays domestic abuse for laughs - all this in a hilarious daytime TV show for kids) I’d like to draw you,” I rephrase, moving in closer, my fingers dancing across her skin. “Just like this, with your face kissing the stars... I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” This book is indispensible, not only to those of us who were blessed enough to live through British TV, comics and books as they happened in the 70s, but also for those who are interested in discovering a goldmine of dark, disturbing material that will give you the shivers for sure, much of which would definitely not be approved today.Sarah Edmondson was in the NXIVM cult for 12 years before she paid attention to all the red flags. For much of the book, she's explaining the teachings of the cult...many that actually make sense and sound like self-help learnings. I wonder if writing the book this way is her way to show HOW she fell for the BS. It wasn't until she was branded in a secret, nude, blind-folded, women-only darkened ceremony that she "woke up" and started working to get out. What’s amazing to me in this story is that there were many people who escaped before her, with or without their life, but her story, coming just prior to the #metoo movement is the one that FINALLY gave traction to the FBI and police to get off their butts and arrest the abusers instead of the victims seeking help, blaming the victims, or simply ignoring the victims. The writing was stilted and at times went off in a more self-congratulatory direction than I wanted it to. There were some things that weren't really dug into at all (The Rainbow Child Galen in particular I would have enjoyed reading more about, some of NXIVM's actual belief systems, etc.) I think a third-party writer might be the best way to really uncover it all, hence enjoying the podcast that I did. There are so many similarities between Nxivm and Scientology that Keith Ramirez must have been in Scientology or seriously researched it.