Nicola Ranson

Nicola Ranson was a sannyasin in the 1980s, she lived with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers. In A Slice of Orange, she describes her experiences with the cult, and parts of her life before and afterwards.
I especially liked that she neither condemns nor glorifies what happened then: While her views of the guru and his cult are critical today, she still manages to describe the happiness and bliss the community gave her at the time in a very relatable way, shows how fascinating it must show more have been to be a part of that movement. On the other hand, she also shows the dark side, the events towards the end of the Rajneeshpuram commune in Oregon, of course, but also problematic aspects of cult that hadn't been clear to her when she was a follower herself.
This is the most rational and balanced book about Bhagwan/Osho I have ever read—but it's not boring at all, glued me to the pages until I had finished it after only two days. Highly recommended! show less

I read a lot of books about new religious movements, communes, and cults, but this was the first I've read about Rajneeshpuram. Nicola's story is particularly interesting because she became a follower of Rajneesh while he was in India, was involved with multiple sannyasin communities across three additional countries, lived at the Rajneeshpuram ranch in Oregon, and rebuilt her life afterwards. Therefore her perspective on the group is from a long period of involvement through multiple phases show more of the cult, and her story offers many insights into the dynamics of evolving high-control groups and what keeps their followers engaged even as conditions escalate.

Nicola offers the kind of cult account that I appreciate: examining her experiences with a sense of wanting to understand and help readers to understand why someone might join and remain in a cult, rather than sensationalizing the group's actions and beliefs. It was particularly fascinating to read her memoir while watching the documentary "Wild Wild Country," to have the contrast of outsiders' retrospective knowledge of the community's misdeeds with Nicola's insider experience as an average Ranch resident during the group's tumultuous time in rural Oregon.

At over 400 pages, the book is necessarily long to discuss Nicola's life before, during, and after the cult, but at the same time I found myself a bit bored in the middle. It took me almost three months to finish reading this memoir. For much of the time I was reading it from more of a research-minded focus (as a documentary record) than from a sense of engagement with it. My favorite part of the book ended up being the final chapters, when Nicola recounts her process of disengaging with the influence and spirituality of Rajneesh and building a new life for herself. While her memoir is important for its description of a member's experiences with this cult, perhaps the most valuable content is examining how someone navigates community, relationships, work, and belief after leaving a high-control group. show less

A very interesting read. Compare to the other book about being in a cult I reviewed recently, where the author was still in it, and had no insight. Ranson's insight is very good, she is able to identify the harms done to her and her feelings about it at the time compared to now. It shows the Rajneesh cult as being something that was often very good for the people in it. There is an atmosphere of joy and utopianism that I wish we had in modern society. But often the harms are so clear that show more the reader is saying oh Nicola! I hope she is being truthful with us regarding the stuff she says she didn't see. I think she might be, because it would be a better story if she had been privy to some of the worst behaviours of the cult. I am so pleased that she has had a lot of therapy and come to understand guilt and shame and trauma recovery. Well put together and well worth a read. show less

I've always been fascinated by what makes a person join a group that turns out to be a cult or cult adjacent. I appreciate the honesty of the author as she shared her life story and also the story of the Rajneesh group. As a person who now lives in Oregon, I've been fascinated by some of the more bizarre historical moments in this state, and this book helped me put into perspective some of the wilder stuff that's out there. I'm glad that she made it out the other side and was able to share show more her story. show less