In her book, Sarma tells her story of how a successful businesswoman, co-founder and owner of the acclaimed NYC restaurant Pure Food and Wine and the brand One Lucky Duck, could fall for a con artist using a fictitious name, a covert backstory, and fantastical promises. Humans are social beings, and it’s that social aspect that manipulative and abusive characters can learn to exploit for their self-interest. With an increase in online dating and social media, individuals can be exploited relatively easily without knowing who they are really speaking to. Predators can create false identities. They can also buy profile data on a potential victim they wish to exploit. In addition, some unethical people earn money by teaching men how to manipulate women online using neurolinguistic programming (NLP) / hypnosis. With behind-the-times laws on recognizing and prosecuting coercive control in relationships, often victims like Sarma are blamed for criminal actions occurring as a result of abuse. Sarma Melngailis recounts her side of this traumatic story, ultimately culminating in her imprisonment on Rikers Island. She hopes that people who read her book will gain a better understanding of what happened to her and use it to warn others of their own vulnerability to online predators. She wanted to correct the story told in the Netflix documentary “Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.” Exploitative documentaries are often inaccurate, leading to media distortion and public shaming of the survivor.Yes, folks- There ARE one on one cults! Fascinating story. 

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