One of my weirdly niche interests is scammers - I'm always interested in how they reel people in, how people fall for them and their lasting impact. One of the most corporatised version of this is Multi-Level Marketing schemes, or scams that people don't even realise are scams.

I've listened to a number of podcasts and watched docs about large MLMs, so Emily Lynn Paulson's memoir/exploration of MLMs had to go on my to read list. Paulson rose to being close to the top of her MLM, drawing in huge amounts of money each month and with a sprawling 'downline'. This enables her to draw a really compelling picture of what it really looks like to 'work for yourself', the pressures that remain as you scale the pyramid - and the way MLMs try and weave their way into your entire life. I found Hey Hun to be at its most compelling when it really leaned into the memoir side of it all, Paulson is genuinely a compelling person (it was clear why she had the reach she did to draw people into the MLM) and I found her reckoning with her addiction issues and how that became a route out of the company.

Paulson does weave some limited social commentary through the book, but I felt this was slightly less impactful. She reflects on the tone-deaf responses of her company to the BLM movement and the inherent conservatism rife in the movement, that includes policing member behaviours at conferences and beyond. However, I think the tension between memoir and non-fiction piece didn't quite get resolved.

However if, like me, you're super interested in MLMs this is an interesting read.