Emily Lynn Paulson

Title is quite misleading. More of a memoir than any sort of evaluation of social media. In fact, social media is barely mentioned in the grander considerations of this narrative. The story is tragic and I admire the author for both the honesty and the integrity---- the ownership she takes for her own actions. A decent read but severely misnamed and really should have come with trigger warnings as several very sensitive topics are covered and it was an emotional shock.

Tw for assault, rape, sexual harrassment, religious ideology, alcoholism, disordered eating, bulemia, anorexia, and infidelity… (plus d'informations)

In this memoir, Paulsen talks about her journey into and out of a multilevel marketing (MLM) company. Interspersed with her own narrative are factual tidbits about how MLMs work, why so few salespeople succeed in them, and why they're still so appealing, especially to white suburban moms. Paulson was one of the few who attained success, getting her "FREE" (spoiler: not really free) car and six-figure paychecks before waking up to the slimy reality of company structure and practices that caused so many of the friends she recruited to lose money rather than gain it. She also talks about the role her alcoholism and subsequent recovery played in her MLM involvement.

I've never been a salesperson for an MLM, but like most white, middle-class women of my generation, I've known several people who have. (I think I still have some nail wraps somewhere from supporting a co-worker's venture, and actually some of those kitchen gadgets that a church friend pushes are pretty handy.) I was aware going into this book about the pyramid-scheme-like nature of MLMs, but was intrigued about why so many seemingly intelligent people are taken in by them. Paulsen comes across as strident, entitled, and uncaring in places -- I think this is because she writes from the frame of mind she was in at the time of the events. She speaks cavalierly of her children and husband and her experience of motherhood before the MLM -- which, fair enough, she is allowed to have and express her feelings, but it didn't make her any more likeable. There's also a fair amount of profanity, which surprised me. Her desire to help people caught in MLMs is clear, though sometimes her reasoning isn't. In particular, while I agree with her points that MLMs are racist, sexist, and classist in structure, some of her early attempts to tie in white supremacy were a little shaky (though when she got to the pandemic and noticed her co-saleswomen buying into QAnon and similar rhetoric, it became clearer where she was coming from). An interesting read if you're interested in the topic, though the writing could be cleaner.… (plus d'informations)

Most of this book is pretty good, a little Cultish, a little lularich, a lot of inside bullshit MLMs all push and lie pretend doesn't happen. I don't think this author is far enough out of the cult to have a clear perspective though. She is riding the fence in a lot of places, saying she doesn't know if she thinks MLMs should be illegal. I also really can't tell how her new venture is drastically different from the predatory practices she says she escaped. So the conclusions take a star off the rating, but otherwise solid.… (plus d'informations)

I really enjoyed this overview of MLMs from someone who was truly in them as a high-earning person who eventually realized she was in a cult. The author has a blend of trying to be honest while hiding a lot (the company is a made up name—luckily Reddit is your friend to find out more…), but I did appreciate how she aimed for vulnerability while still showcasing herself as often awful too. I haven’t dug into enough of the anti-MLM stuff out there to know enough about all of this (although she does give some excellent history throughout), but I thought this was an extremely compelling and engaging read about someone who kind of shrug joined, reached epic peaks, and quit it all. One thing I know for myself is that I can never sell anything, but after reading this I now know that I literally do not know enough people to ever try to start with one of these.… (plus d'informations)