The documentary “shiny happy people” tells the story of the rise and fall of the duggar family, from “19 kids and counting,” and the religious group that taught them their belief system. Bill gothard and the institute for basic life principles had a long reach for many years and negatively impacted a lot of lives. marleah deals with what it feels like to find out that something you studied and didn’t think was so bad was actually a cult.

Resources //

• Shiny happy people: duggar family secrets, amazon

• Shiny Happy People is a great reminder of why cult documentaries should exist, Vox

• How this squeaky-clean photo launched the Duggars to fame, Daily Mail

• Shiny Miserable Family: How Bill Gothard’s Ministry Missed the Sin Inside, Christianity Today

• The Duggars' Homeschool Cult: Cabbage Patch Dolls Are Possessed By Satan, Gawker

• Defection, dominance and misogyny in docuseries “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets”, Arkansas Times

• The cult next door, chicago

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