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A jaw-dropping insider look into the world of the so-called "Hollywood Sex Cult" NXIVM chronicling the rise of enigmatic cult leader, Keith Raniere, from its "Patient Zero," his former girlfriend and test subject for his coercive control techniques. Many have heard of NXIVM and its creator, Keith Raniere, an unassuming Albany man who prosecutors say ensnared tens of thousands of people in the US, Mexico and elsewhere, to do his bidding and pay millions of dollars to participate in his self-improvement methodology. What is not known is how many more people came under the thrall of this man in the years leading up to and including his founding of NXIVM. Where did Keith Raniere begin? How did he build NXIVM and its prior incarnations? And, most notably, how was this relatively far-flung entrepreneur able to get and keep his access to the wealth and power that allowed him to lure so many successful, sophisticated people? Enter single mother Toni Natalie, Keith's Patient Zero, the first one indoctrinated into Raniere's methodology and the first one to escape. Told in three parts, the narrative uniquely walks us through the origin story to the fall of Raniere through Toni's eyes and ears. During this time, she bore witness to the evolution of his methodology, including his use of sexual coercion and entrapment, blackmail, and employment of psychological tools such as hypnosis and neuro linguistic programming to ambush, control, and punish those who would not heed his wishes...most of all Toni. Though unaware of Raniere's true motives and the extent of his involvement until she reconnected with others, Toni can uniquely detail the thousands of fortunes lost and the lives left in disarray that she witnessed contemporaneously, as she pulls back the curtain on the mind control techniques used on members of NXIVM and DOS, a group of women allegedly coerced into sexual acts under the guise of a "women's empowerment" inner circle, whom Raniere exercised extreme control over directly and through his lieutenants.But far from being a victim's story, in the spirit of Erin Brockovich, Toni's is a nuanced narrative of a multi-dimensional woman saving herself, and then working tirelessly to help other women do the same for themselves. Today, Toni is happy, reunited with her son, and surrounded by friends and family--it is this perspective that makes her such a unique storyteller.
About the Author
Toni Natalie remembers the woman she was before Keith Raniere.She had a home in Rochester with a solid husband - a good partner - and a newly adopted baby boy. She was still young, in her early 30s, surrounded by friends, and hopeful for her future. She couldn't have conceived the trials that were in store for her.Toni had heard the legends. Keith was one of the world's top problem solvers. He had a 240 IQ, one of the highest ever recorded. He could speak in full sentences by the age of two, and by 4, he understood quantum physics. He was a judo champion, a ski instructor, a self-made millionaire, and could play seven instruments.This was in 1991, and Consumers Buyline, the company he founded and that Toni worked with, was a fast-growing success.In-person, Keith was unassuming, even shy. Surprisingly short. He had rosy cheeks and a bounce to his step, a mullet-esque pageboy haircut, and George Costanza glasses. He reminded her of Little Lord Fauntleroy. He had the arcade game Vanguard in his garage, and he looked like it.He certainly didn't look dangerous.Keith took an immediate interest in Toni. He helped her quit smoking. They spent hours on the phone together, talking about her marriage, her dreams, her work. Keith told her it was a way to heal, to relive her memories of childhood sexual assault over and over and over again. When he told her to leave her husband, she did. When he told her that they were fated to be together, she believed him. When she fled him, after eight years, he threatened her: "I will see you dead or in jail."What followed was two decades of torture. She was harassed, stalked, chased through courtroom after courtroom, and nearly imprisoned twice by Raniere's well-funded "terrorism by litigation" machine. She lost everything: her son's childhood, two husbands, homes, careers, her brother, and both her parents.Keith has been the overwhelming constant for nearly half of Toni's life. And while the woman she remembers from long ago is gone, the woman she is today beat Keith Raniere. Because he was right - sort of. The next time he saw her, one of them was in jail. After holding her breath for so long, she can finally exhale. She can start a new life. ... but not quite yet. While the arrests of Raniere and Allison Mack are a good start, it is only the beginning. The literal fortunes that flowed through NXIVM ensured the silence and complicity of many co-conspirators. For Toni - and so many other victims - there are still plenty of orange jumpsuits to be filled before this can be called over.Please, remember to support your local journalists. In an age of fake news, real journalism is our first line of defense. #NoMoreVanguards #TruthForKristinSnyder Visit us at www.TheFallOfNXIVM.com
