The Jonestown massacre was unprecedented, and its scale still dwarfs cult suicides that have followed it. Layton's purpose in writing the book was twofold: to show how intelligent, independent people can become part of a cult and to educate the public about the dangers of cult life. Twenty years after this horrific event, Layton wrote Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple, becoming the first survivor to offer an account of life at Jonestown. When Congressman Leo Ryan visited the compound and invited members to return to the United States with him, Jones had Ryan shot and ordered everyone to drink poison in a carefully rehearsed mass suicide. officials about the abusive control Jones held over his followers, triggered the catastrophic event at Jonestown. One such person was Deborah Layton, who in trying to alert U.S.

A small number of members did not die, mostly those who were not at the Jonestown, Guyana, compound. They were followers of Jim Jones, who had begun the group in 1956. In November of 1978 more than 900 members of the religious cult known as the Peoples Temple died in a mass suicide. Layton's book has been published in Thailand, France, Germany, and Italy. Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple, Anchor Books ( New York, NY), 1998. Lecturer on cults at high schools and universities guest on media programs. Research analyst and executive assistant to the chief executive officer of an investment banking firm. Agent-Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, 1155 Camino Del Mar, Ste. Religion: 'Raised as a Quaker.' Hobbies and other interests: Theater, music, painting, gardening. Education: Attended college in the area of San Francisco, CA. Born in 1953, in Tooele, UT daughter of Laurence Laird and Lisa Layton married children: Lauren.

Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton