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Personal Comments "Seductive Poison is an absolutely riveting story, told as memoir but with the pulse-pounding suspense of a murder mystery. I read Layton's account non-stop through the night, unable to let go, struck by the realization that this is not simply an account of a bygone tragedy. It has great relevance to many of the terrible events we see unfolding today, for this is a story about those who seek a better world and are then inextricably caught in a plan to end it. This is a universal tale about ideology gone awry." - "Cults are multiplying and growing in this country. Why do apparently normal people surrender in body On the 20th anniversary of the mass suicides/murders at Jonestown, Guyana, Deborah Layton takes us behind the scenes in her chillingly brilliant memoirs of her adolescent descent into his hell and her ascent years later as the woman courageous enough to expose this evil to the world. Her privileged status as a trusted inner circle member - responsible for depositing millions of dollars in foreign banks - gives her story an untold perspective on this charismatic leader and the transformations of human nature that took place among so many followers under his domination. Layton's is a remarkable narrative that reads like a novel, but sadly is all too true." - |
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CHICAGO TRIBUNE's BOOK REVIEW, November 22, 1998, Cover Story by Bettina Drew - An excerpt Copyright 1998 Chicago Tribune Company
A chilling account of one woman's seven years in the Peoples Temple, culminating in the mass suicide just months after she escaped from the dystopian community of Jonestown. Layton was attracted to Jim Jones' religious movement, as many were, for its radical teachings on interracialism and social justice. She joined in Berkeley at the tender age of 18, along with her mother (a Jew who had escaped Nazi Germany) and brother Larry. Layton quickly came to be a favorite of Jones's. As a member of his inner circle, she saw a few things (such as his voracious sexual appetite) that made her secretly question him, though she remained faithful to his socialist vision. But in December 1977, when Layton and her mother traveled to the movements new headquarters in Jonestown, Guyana, they discovered appalling conditions, near-starvation, and physical abuse; Jonestown residents endured a living hell that more closely resembled an armed labor camp than a communal tropical paradise. Layton exploited Jones' trust by fleeing to the American Embassy during a public relations trip to Georgetown, the Guyanese capital. She was granted asylum in May 1978, and within weeks, she was speaking openly in the US about her experiences in the cult, including the mass-suicide practice drills that Jones put them through. It was Layton's reports that inspired Congressman Leo Ryan to undertake his own investigative trip to Guyana. Ryan and several press members were assassinated, and Jones then made good his plans for mass suicide. More than 900 perished. Layton's brother is still serving a prison sentence for his role in the attack on Ryan's party. Her mother died of cancer just days before the tragedy (though she died without pain medication, which Jones had confiscated for his own needs). Truly unforgettable. (32 pages b&w photos, not seen) (Author tour; television satellite tour) As other religious cults have made headlines in recent years, Layton was haunted by her experiences with the most infamous cult in U.S. history--the Peoples Temple, headed by Jim Jones and destroyed in a mass suicide and the murder of a delegation, including a U.S. senator, in Guyana in 1978. Layton felt compelled to give an account of how she came to join the Peoples Temple, and later defect, leaving behind her cancer-stricken mother, in an attempt to uncover the cult and rescue its members. Layton was introduced to Jones' cult by her brother when she was a troubled teenager on break from an English boarding school. Fed up with her outrageous and rebellious behavior, Layton's parents had sent her to England to turn herself around and, at the very least, to put some distance between her and them. Ironically, her involvement with the cult put even more distance between Layton and her family, even though her brother was already a member and her mother later joined. The very nature of the cult, with its emphasis on having no secrets and no close ties other than that to the "Father," turned family members against each other. Layton, like many other young women in the cult, was sexually abused by Jones, then subjected to the public humiliation of "confessing" that she'd seduced him and that she--not Jones--was a weak and vile creature who couldn't be trusted. Layton's story is chilling, and although it accounts for how some people come to join cults, it doesn't really explain something that may well be beyond explaining. She marvels at the self-assurance of outsiders that had them immediately questioning Jones, while others -- disenfranchised by racism, poverty, and other social and emotional factors--fell prey. She recounts the fear and suspicion engendered in those who came to Jonestown, Guyana, looking for a multiracial, socialist paradise under the leadership of an egomaniacal madman. Booklist, September 1, 1998, Vanessa Bush
There is a simple naiveté at the root of Seductive Poison. Layton's own youthful innocence, foremost, but also the desire to trust another person, the need for belonging and meaning, which led so many perfectly normal Americans to place their faith in a suicidal madman. Far from confirming the simplistically monstrous Jones of the public imagination, Layton paints the man as a dark, twisted shaman, by turns soothing, then suddenly malevolent and petty, with a hugely sadistic streak that belied his perfectly coiffed hair, expensive suits, and impressive political connections. The scenes in which she describes her escape and flight to safety are wrenching, her last-minute conversation with Jones and his seductive appeal for her to return home to Jonestown are chilling, and her fear and indecision are still palpable on the printed page. For Layton to recount tales this personal and horrifying must have been tremendously difficult. For her to lift those recollections above the bargain-basement freak-show reputation the People's Temple has achieved in the popular imagination and depict them with the power of great tragedy is nothing but extraordinary. --
Layton, financial secretary to the Peoples Temple and a victim of sexual abuse by the Rev. Jim Jones, reminds us in this candid memoir that Jones' followers were not social misfits but vulnerable Americans searching for answers. Her cautionary tale of life with the manipulative, powerful, "Father" also recalls the privileged California environment that made the author, her mother, and her brother susceptible... this is a fascinating account of a debacle that continues to resonate. |
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Book Reviews "...an emotional and gripping account." "A suspenseful tale of escape that reads like a satisfying thriller. Layton's account is the most important personal testimony to emerge from the Jonestown Tragedy." "A chilling account of one woman's seven years in the Peoples Temple...Truly unforgettable." "Layton's story is chilling" "An emotionally articulate, gripping account detailing life in a cult whose private apocalypse "This is a fascinating account of a debacle that continues to resonate." Purchased by the Reader's Digest for their 1999 Best of Non-Fiction compilation. Seductive Poison ranked as high as 25 on Amazon.com and The San Francisco Chronicle gave a front-page headline accompanied by a two-page in-depth interview. Chronicle's Book Review's "The Best of 1998-Holiday Gift Guide"
National Public Radio's (NPR) All Things Considered BBC's The World, Voice of America, on Public Interest with Kojo Knamde NPR's KQED Forum in San Francisco
Television Appearances NBC's Dateline The Leeza Show CNN Arts and Entertainment Network Fox Television's Documentary Series |
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