Dr. Steven Hassan

Okay, just making sure.

So we go to the monastery and there's all the monks there and everything.

And there's all these young boys.

who've come from different childhoods.

Some have almost been on a path of monkhood their whole lives.

Others have come in because they're living troubled lives.

And so somebody said in the group we were in, they were like, oh, but like, isn't that, you know, this kid's been through like this 20 year old or 19 year old, he's been through, he's done all these things and can he be a monk?

And the monk said something really amazing.

He said, oh, he's the best person to be a monk.

Because if you've been perfect your whole life and you're a monk, that's fine.

But if you haven't been perfect your whole life, you've lived the furthest life from perfect and then you become a monk.

He's like, I feel like you're the best disciple slash teacher because you've actually experienced the things that you're talking about.

And I feel like that's you.

No, but this is what I mean.

You are now an expert in the world of cults.

You're an author who's written about cults.

You teach people and you help them understand what a cult is, whether they're in a cult, the difference between cults, et cetera.

But your origin story

I find particularly fascinating because it gives you a unique insight.

You're not just coming at this from academia, like you just told us.