Stephanie Wrobel Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Interview

Stephanie Wrobel discusses her second novel, This Might Hurt, set inside an East Coast cult.

With a title like This Might Hurt, is there anything you'd like to warn readers about before they dip in?

I think the opening scene is the most gruesome! From there, the action becomes significantly less… repulsive.

How would you describe This Might Hurt?

This Might Hurt is a story about pain, fear, and endurance. It explores the light and dark sides of belief.

What kind of research did you do for the novel? Did anything surprise you?

I read books and articles and listened to podcasts about some of the most famous cults: Peoples Temple, Heaven's Gate, the Manson Family, FLDS, the Rajneeshpuram community, and NXIVM. I also did a ton of research on mentalism, self-help retreats, fear, pain, and persuasion.

On the cult front, I was most surprised to learn that pretty much anyone can be taken in by a cult if you catch them at the right—or wrong—time in their life. Plenty of lawyers, doctors, etc. have signed up. We tend to view cult members with disdain, judge them as naïve at best or unintelligent at worst. That's simply not true.

Another surprise was learning that brainwashing isn't real. Human beings can, of course, manipulate one another to extremes, but there's no such thing as taking over...