Amanda is fresh out of high school and ready to escape her small hometown in Nebraska. She meets a guy at a rock concert who invites her to join his travels around the country as a "salesman." He offers her a one-way bus ticket to Texas to join him on a sales opportunity. Seeking adventure and excitement Amanda accepts, but on arrival she is disappointed to find herself thrown into a door-to-door sales routine with a magazine crew that operates more like a cult than a legitimate business. The manipulative crew leaders isolate her from family and friends while gradually introducing deceptive practices to boost sales and strip Amanda of her identity. She faces a complex web of psychological manipulation and coercive tactics. Her story unfolds as a quest for self-discovery amidst the unexpected dangers of seeking a new life away from home.

Resources:

Magazine Crews:

* https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/trapped-into-selling-magazines-door-to-door/388601/

* http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/24/human-trafficking-victim-mag-crew-kid-at-door.html

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Honey_(film)

General Cult/Trafficking Info:

https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/influence-continuum/ https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model/ * https://janjalalich.com/help/characteristics-associated-with-cults/

* https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/trafficking/

* https://polarisproject.org/labor-trafficking/ (Anything on Janja Lalich or Steven Hassan's websites are great for cult research/education. I have some of their books as well!)

Commercial Cults:

* https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/10/five-signs-your-workplace-might-turning-into-a-cult/

* https://www.economist.com/business/2022/03/05/company-or-cult

* https://www.huffpost.com/entry/multilevel-marketing-companies-mlms-cults-similarities_l_5d49f8c2e4b09e72973df3d3

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