Book Reviews

Two Tickets to Paradise is a heart-rending tale of childhood survival. Katie Love tells the story of escaping the cult she was raised in with gritty determination, honesty and a good deal of levity despite her tragic circumstance. In the end, it's comedy that pulls her through, gives her direction and saves her life.

I loved this book. It was a memoir about a very difficult coming of age through adulthood with so many challenges. The writer managed to tell Her story growing up and Living in California without throwing any person under the bus. Many should have been run over by Garbage Trucks. Reading this book is a happy ending. Don’t wait for the movie read the book first.

Outstanding author! Katie let her comedic bright light shine through out this unique, captivating California set book.

I cannot say enough about this marvelous memoir! Katie has empowered me, she had a difficult childhood and she followed her passion. Everything she said about this horrific cult is true and sometimes worse for the bulk of others who try to leave. More need to hear about the policies, fear, spiritual abuse, oppression tactics used on this mega cults followers. Thank you Katie for having the strength and courage to tell your story! The writing was excellent and I laughed at many back flashes, especially about Eduardo. Thank you for what you provided for the public.

Heartbreak, trauma, dysfunction, cult brainwashing, and Katie’s comic flair throughout! I couldn’t put it down!! I highly recommend this book as A MUST READ!!!

This book resonates deeply to many people who were trapped and abused by the JW cult. It shines light on the systemic issues associated with the child abuse scandal and subsequent cover ups. Thoughtfully written and splashed with a glimmering of hope for anyone who feels trapped in a cult

I felt so empowered as a woman reading this book. I too am a religious orphan, even though Katie lost her parents in a different way. This author writes so good and I learned a few things. Her thought process was so funny and it was set in beautiful California and based on a true story. It is so timely for the women social walls that are coming down this past year. LOVED IT!

Outstanding author! Katie let her comedic bright light shine through out this unique, captivating California set book.

This memoir is an emotional ride, especially for those who have their own story to tell. Very well written with enough comedic energy to balance the heart wrenching memories of a tumultuous life, and the strength gained in Her journey.

This was so empowering! Thank you for being an open book and sharing your thought process of desires and pain of your past. I was cracking up on some of the scenerios. I hope more women read this and feel inspired to live their calling and gifts. It is important to embrace your talents and laugh along the way. Comedy is so healing and that is why I was drawn to your book. Five stars baby!

This is one of those books that stays with you. Documenting her young life brought up in a religious cult which led her to leave with some painful scars. Katie takes us on a deep, emotional coming of age journey showcasing her wit and strength. At some points, incredibly sad and at others, hysterically funny. Easy to read and hard to forget

For those like myself who find humor in the human condition and part of the coping mechanism of life, this will be a start to finish read that you won't want to put down. From the most difficult experiences, Love finds not only humor but caveats to a life well lived despite the fact she was thrust in to a life no one would choose willingly.

Long overdue, this fantastic book exposes a cult for what it is while taking us along for the ride of the author who through it all touches us with her steadfast ability to not only survive but thrive.

Really well written. Even though there was alot of sadness, Katie punctuated it with humor. Fascinating true story that really draws you in!!

A rollicking, beautifully written page turner, sometime bodice-ripper. Katie's a thoroughly entertaining, captivating whistle-blower. When life gives you lemons...make lemonade!

Two Tickets To Paradise: From Cult to Comedy takes you on the emotional ride from the author's childhood to adulthood and doesn't pull any punches. I got drawn into the narrative, as the author artfully expresses universal complex feelings. Not for the faint of heart, the tale was gripping and well-paced. It was hard to put down and definitely made a mark. The book reads so well that it is easy to forget that this is a memoir and not a work of fiction.

What an incredible journey to dive into and then share with the world in this funny, tragic, honest, and sometimes tragic story Katie Love takes us through. The author really makes you feel like you are on this journey with her. It was quite shocking and sad to read about this religious sect that not many of us know much about and the author brings us through it with humor. I loved it and would highly recommend it. Great book club read

This haunting, heart-wrenching and ultimately triumphant story of courage should be told on the big screen. I will be the first in line.

One of the best books I've read in a long time. When you start reading this book plan to forget about everything else you have to do...you'll want to read it from cover to cover in 1 day. Katie Love is an excellent story teller and her authentic sense of humor shines through even when there are some heavy moments. It's fascinating to learn more about the Jehovah Witnesses through the eyes of a brilliant comedian.

Katie has lived a fascinating and triumphant life and one very worthy of a memoir. Cheers to Katie Love for telling an epic life story that will one day shine on the silver screen. Her book is now my go to gift!!

This book screams “Netflix movie.” “Netflix series.” This writer doesn’t hold back, and her life has had enough trauma and drama that, well, when she is not holding back, you better stand back. There is so much realism here. I’d need a spoiler alert if I were to begin to cite the instances. Miss Love grabs your attention and just never lets go, and you end up thanking her for it. Fortunately, the humor lightens the mix and provides the balance you need

Love's moving memoir is filled with adolescent angst against a backdrop of shock, sorrow, and scandal. The whirlwind of incomparable institutional ignorance and malfeasance by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society borders on the ridiculous but true. Her bravery and naivete take the reader on a mind-bending adventure disguised in the bland, heated plains of Northern California -- far from the coastal and presumably aware lifestyles.

"All we have to do to see Mom again is do everything EXACTLY [emphasis mine] as Jehovah wants us to. Do you think you can do that?” This is the driving impetus for Ms Love's try-as-she-might determination. Emotional blackmail from one similarly blackmailed by misguided scripture twisters.

What makes this narrative so entertaining while duly exposing this particular cult is Love's appreciation of the absurd, while shepherding the reader through each chapter just to see how the da*ned thing turns out..

A bittersweet story full of heart and humor - I couldn’t put it down and kept thinking of young Katie and her story long after I’d finished reading. Super interesting to learn about the inner working of this religious sect.

A book that made me feel every emotion (in a good way). I continued to think about parts of the story after reading it & want to read it again. A light hearted perspective on some heavy subjects. The authors tone felt really relatable. The kind of book you wanna talk about with your friends after reading. A perfect Book Club discussion book.

This book was almost impossible for me to put down. It was funny, tragic, authentic - the full gamut of emotions. The author had an amazing knack for making you feel as though you were a part of her tale. It was vivid and raw and witty. I learned so much more about JW than I ever knew but it didn't weigh her personal storyline down with endless facts and dense theology. I can't wait to see this turned into a Netflix Mini-Series.

Congrats to the author on weaving her incredible journey into a novel that has a real message in the end. Incredible writing, unbelievable life story. I highly recommend reading this memoir.

It's not an easy task to write about abandonment, abuse, and family dysfunction without defaulting to blame, self-pity, and resentment. But Katie Love's newly-published memoir rises well above mundane recitations of psychological and sexual harm with admirable resilience and compassion.

Even stone cold family members and a horrifically cult-y religion couldn't quash the bright light, creativity, and passion that Katie, against all odds, had from a very early age. Whether or not she realized it as a preteen, teen, or young adult, Katie practiced self love every time she trusted her gut and chose herself over the loud voices and manipulation of elders and family members who were too brainwashed into the Jehovah's Witness movement to grasp their own negligence and cruelty.

With courage, creativity, and a few false starts, Katie extricates herself from the unjust and damaging behaviors of the faith in which she was raised and it leads to a brutal shunning from her family. Her honest recounting of her life contains no sugar coating, while managing to spare even a hint of bitterness as she longs for the acceptance of a family that is incapable of giving her the kind of love she very much deserves.

At the core of this well-written and thoughtful story is Katie's heart, which I'm happy to report is very much intact in spite of a severe lack of a nurturing mother figure. Equally as critical is the comic lens through which Katie sees the world. She brilliantly uses humor not to deflect, but to reframe what could have been the tragic story of a girl who had the spirit sucked of her into one that is filled with light and wit and celebration.

This is a book that captures you with it's combination of subtle wit, a dark reality and a spirit to carry through. You feel that you are with her the entire time. What moves me the most about the story is that it can be at times nothing short of horrific, yet she never looses hope, and most of all her sense of humor. In fact we learn how it saves her. This is where the inspiration stays with you for quite a long time.

Has Oprah read this? Yes, its one of those books that makes you laugh, cry, and get ready for full on anger, and finally moved. The authors determination, aided by her gifted and prolific writing is a compelling and fulfilling read

The memoir by Katie Love is a book I will cherish and reread many times. Because I felt her pain … her Mother was her best friend and she missed her guidance when she collapsed and died…and her whole story changed ( Jehovah Witness the cult) she had to deal with…..I shed tears. I laughed. But most of all I felt love for the girl who fought for her freedom My 5 star review!’

Beautifully written book. Katie took some heavy content and managed to make it funny with the perfect amount of comic relief, but not too much to where it took away from the experiencing the gravity of the topic at hand. I am a slow reader, but this was a total page turner and I finished it in a day, both laughing and crying throughout it all. Very impressed and 10/10 recommend!!

In childhood, Katie Love recognized darkness in what so many around her only saw as that proverbial light. Now, reflecting on that childhood as an adult, Katie finds in that darkness, shafts of light — reasons to laugh, opportunities to bestow upon her younger self a sense of long overdue heroism. And astutely so. Katie synthesizes all of this vivid hindsight into an unflinching memoir that can only be filed under the banner of tragicomedy.

The tragedy of course is the cult in the book’s namesake. But it’s comedy that gets the last word, literally — check out the cover — and the last laugh, a triumph in Katie’s life, and in her telling of it. Thirty years ago, Katie stepped into the spotlight for the first time and picked up the mic. With 'Two Tickets to Paradise,' Katie drops the mic… and makes quite a bang.

Hilarious, refreshingly unique coming of age story. A comic, tragic, true tale of family, loyalty and modern day cult. Written with such raw truth and human compassion. After the suicide of her larger than life mother, Katie is left behind to live with her sister’s family of Jehovah’s witnesses in rural america. What ensues is an eye opening jaw dropping tale of innocence, beauty, resilience and ultimately freedom.

A true page turner. This is the second book I have read by this author; her other book “cubicide”, also brilliantly hilarious. She writes with rich imaginary, masterful language and wit of the heart, capturing a tactile slice of American modern culture.

I loved "TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE From Cult to Comedy" by Katie Love. It's a beautiful, funny, autobiography that taps on your heart, taps on your trauma, and taps on your funny bone. Katie Love's story is very unique, heartbreakingly honest, and told with a comedian's panache.

This writer's moments of pain, outrage, and shock, rolls off the reader's back because this writer has the ability to see "the other's side" and lets us see it too. Ms. Love's empathy is her "cross to bear" in this wonderful book. It's a deep lesson to learn and Katie learns it well, and teaches the reader along the way.

There are so many insights about our humanity and our inhumanity, and the sadness that can happen with misguided zealotry. It's heartbreaking. It's funny as hell! It's also triumphant! Touchingly so! I highly recommend this... "American-cult version of Voltaire's CANDIDE" to these readers. Like CANDIDE, it's a journey of innocence to maturation, and full of fascinatingly "human" characters. It's a real ride and one that this reader loved