A girl I went to school with disappeared. Nobody talked about what happened to her, but years later it was revealed that she’d joined a cult. I was intrigued. What exactly is a cult? Why do people join them? Why do they stay? What happens if they try to leave? How do they heal afterward?

I’ve been a Montessori teacher (of 9 - 12 year olds) for about twenty-five years. For those who know nothing of the Montessori approach — well, I’m sorry, I won’t explain it here, except to say that we like to introduce new ideas with what we call a great story. The Great Story of Language or the Great Story of Math are stories that help inspire children to wonder and to appreciate humanity’s greatest accomplishments.