directorpurry's reviews
1868 reviews

(TL;DR: watch YouTube commentators for your anti-MLM content instead. This is not as in depth or critical as it could be. While it's a good start, there's so much more information out there.)

The author didn't say it, but I will! Emily Lynn Paulson was a consultant for Rodan + Fields, a cosmetic and skin/hair care company. While just as questionable and annoying and predatory as the majority of other MLM framed companies (aka /\ <- look it's a pyramid!), they haven't actively caused any deaths (as far as I know). Unlike.... Well, I'll get into that.

While I found this to be an interesting perspective to read from, I found most of the stories told to be quite self-focused (wow, shocker, a memoir about the author's life! That's on me for that expectation, I think) and not nearly as informative as I would have hoped.
As someone who's been tuned in to the anti-Multilevel Marketing part of the Internet since approximately 2016, there's really not a lot of new information in this book. Most of the statistics mentioned have been quoted to death already on anti-MLM YouTube video essays. But for someone newly joining, or a person who had no idea that this Internet subculture war is actively raging, it might be a very good place to start.
But I still found it too be too quick to excuse the actions of the people who make these companies what they are. The author mentions that she is still in contact with quite a few people she encountered in her MLM years, which I believe is particularly rare, based on the interviews I've read and watched on ex-members. I do think that the positive relationships she's managed to keep ahold of have colored her outlook on these companies.

One of my biggest issues with this book is the way diversity inside of MLMs was framed. There was almost a twist to the way it was presented, as if increased diversity within the ranks were a positive want, more so than dismantling an exploitative and predatory business model. Is it really that much better for people to lose their homes, families and friends, and safety-nets as long as it's equal between white people and POC?
Towards the end of the book, there was much more discussion on the white supremacy that encourages the methods of this type of business, but sometimes it still felt dangerously like it would have been more okay if it was just not racist. I really feel like there were a lot of excuses made for individuals who perpetuate this system - they're not bad people specifically because they're myopic or racist or bigoted, but because they have allowed money and mob-mentality to give them an excuse to continue being so. The problem with MLMs isn't that they're not diverse enough, it's much deeper than that.

I found myself thinking throughout, "Well, I guess it could have been worse..." Because, believe me, I have read and watched the horror stories.
Another multi-level marketing influencer who came to mind is Jessie Lee Ward, a woman who sold primarily for Pruvit, a wellness supplement company, who passed in 2023 from aggressive cancer. She is, in many ways, the opposite to Emily Lynn Paulson. Her cancer was aggressive and she used it to sell her products to the end. And other people used it to sell their products too. 
I also closely followed the demise of Black Oxygen Organics, which promoted products that exposed users to arsenic and lead, among other negative side-effects. This was hotly promoted during the initial Covid waves. (https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-consumers-not-use-fulvic-care-powder-and-tablets-black-oxygen-organics-due-elevated)

MLMs aren't just dangerous for their cult-like mentalities, or for their promotion of over-work, isolation, substance abuse, and information control. Many of them create dangerous products too. 
There are a lot of reasons to be anti-MLM, and the stance this book took was just not firm enough for my preference. 
If you're interested in further information, Savanah Marie and CC Suarez on YouTube are some of the main creators I follow for information about these topics. Savanah was a member of two MLMs before turning to the content she creates now. Both creators have made lengthy videos about the two examples I mentioned earlier, as well as creating videos on the business that Paulson represented. 

I received a copy of this book for free via Goodreads giveaway. This has not impacted my final review of this book. 

Both thoroughly researched and thoroughly depressing.