Other Available Formats
Overview
The "gripping" (The Atlantic) story of five families shattered by pernicious, pervasive conspiracy theories, and how we might set ourselves free from a crisis that could haunt American life for generations. "Excellent . . . This is the intimate side of the cold civil war America has been stuck in for nearly a decade."--Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times "SHED MY DNA" three excruciating words uttered by a QAnon-obsessed mother, once a highly respected lawyer, to her only son, once the closest person in her life. QAnon beliefs and adjacent conspiracy theories have had devastating political consequences as they've exploded in popularity. What's often overlooked is the lasting havoc they wreak on our society at its most basic and intimate level--the family. In The Quiet Damage, celebrated reporter Jesselyn Cook paints a harrowing portrait of the vulnerabilities that have left so many of us susceptible to outrageous falsehoods promising order, purpose, and control. Braided throughout are the stories of five American families: an elderly couple whose fifty-year romance takes a heartbreaking turn; millennial sisters of color who grew up in dire poverty--one to become a BLM activist, the other, a hardcore conspiracy theorist pulling her little boy down the rabbit hole with her; a Bay Area hippie-type and her business-executive fiancé, who must decide whether to stay with her as she turns into a stranger before his eyes; evangelical parents whose simple life in a sleepy suburb spirals into delusion-fueled chaos; and a rural mother-son duo who, after carrying each other through unspeakable tragedy, stop speaking at all as ludicrous untruths shatter a bond long thought unbreakable. Charting the arc of each believer's path from their first intersection with conspiracy theories to the depths of their cultish conviction, to--in some cases--their rejection of disinformation and the mending of fractured relationships, Cook offers a rare, intimate look into the psychology of how and why ordinary people come to believe the unbelievable. Profound, brilliantly researched, and beautifully written, The Quiet Damage lays bare how we have been taken hostage by grifters peddling lies built on false hope--and how we might release our loved ones, and ourselves, from their grasp.
Customers Also Bought
- 1
Details
- ISBN-13: 9780593443255
- ISBN-10: 059344325X
- Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
- Publish Date: July 2024
- Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.01 pounds
- Page Count: 272
Related Categories
One evening in 2020, I happened across a Twitter thread miles long. The original post had been yet another news item about the far-right conspiracy theory known as QAnon, and the replies were flooded with grieving users telling stories of loved ones who had all become so entrenched in the theory’s dark fever dreams that the users had finally been forced to cut contact. For people such as these, and those in journalist Jesselyn Cook’s debut, The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family, QAnon is more than an over-the-top threat to our democracy. It is a destroyer of homes and marriages, a force that orphans and isolates. QAnon’s most radical believers think that Donald Trump and Q, an anonymous government insider, are locked in a secret battle with “a satanic cabal” of pedophiliac global elites to liberate the country and ensure democracy. Other believers embrace some but not all of the core conspiracy theories. In total, Cook writes, they number twice the population of California. The Quiet Damage is thoughtful and nuanced, delving into the destructive phenomenon of QAnon through the very human stories of believers and the loved ones who become collateral damage. Cook defies stereotypes, featuring a diverse group of people: a brilliant and formerly progressive lawyer in Tennessee at war with her three grown children; two once-inseparable Black sisters, the relationship irreparably sundered by one’s fascination with conspiracy theories; a young husband and father at risk of losing his family as he binges endless YouTube videos; and a 50-years-married couple facing their first real divide over the wife’s disbelief in COVID-19. Resisting the all too common temptation to mock the believers who have fallen far enough down the proverbial rabbit hole to believe in the most extreme core conspiracies, Cook instead opts for a considered and thorough investigation into the psychology of what drives people into the arms of conspiracy theorists. The Quiet Damage employs an empathy that invites the reader to feel for both the alienated, hurt families as well as the believers. And as Cook begins to explore the delicate art of bringing the lost back to reality, she makes abundantly clear that empathy and radical compassion, not ridicule, are the most important tools at our disposal.
One evening in 2020, I happened across a Twitter thread miles long. The original post had been yet another news item about the far-right conspiracy theory known as QAnon, and the replies were flooded with grieving users telling stories of loved ones who had all become so entrenched in the theory’s dark fever dreams that the users had finally been forced to cut contact. For people such as these, and those in journalist Jesselyn Cook’s debut, The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family, QAnon is more than an over-the-top threat to our democracy. It is a destroyer of homes and marriages, a force that orphans and isolates. QAnon’s most radical believers think that Donald Trump and Q, an anonymous government insider, are locked in a secret battle with “a satanic cabal” of pedophiliac global elites to liberate the country and ensure democracy. Other believers embrace some but not all of the core conspiracy theories. In total, Cook writes, they number twice the population of California. The Quiet Damage is thoughtful and nuanced, delving into the destructive phenomenon of QAnon through the very human stories of believers and the loved ones who become collateral damage. Cook defies stereotypes, featuring a diverse group of people: a brilliant and formerly progressive lawyer in Tennessee at war with her three grown children; two once-inseparable Black sisters, the relationship irreparably sundered by one’s fascination with conspiracy theories; a young husband and father at risk of losing his family as he binges endless YouTube videos; and a 50-years-married couple facing their first real divide over the wife’s disbelief in COVID-19. Resisting the all too common temptation to mock the believers who have fallen far enough down the proverbial rabbit hole to believe in the most extreme core conspiracies, Cook instead opts for a considered and thorough investigation into the psychology of what drives people into the arms of conspiracy theorists. The Quiet Damage employs an empathy that invites the reader to feel for both the alienated, hurt families as well as the believers. And as Cook begins to explore the delicate art of bringing the lost back to reality, she makes abundantly clear that empathy and radical compassion, not ridicule, are the most important tools at our disposal.