About this episode

Nicola Ranson discusses her experience in the Osho Rajneesh community and the challenges of recovery and rebuilding one's identity after leaving.

Nicola joins Sam to talk about her experience inside the Osho Rajneesh community, a high-control group that doesn't always get the airtime it deserves and what the process of leaving and recovering from that has actually looked like. She speaks openly about the disillusionment that comes when beliefs you once held close begin to fracture, and the particular challenges of rebuilding your sense of self and spirituality in the aftermath. It's a thoughtful conversation about the role community plays in both keeping people inside these systems and in helping them heal once they're out, and Nicola brings a warmth and honesty to it that makes the harder parts of her story genuinely compelling to sit with. Who Is Nicola? Nicola Ranson is a writer and psychotherapist who has worked with survivors from multiple cults and has presented internationally on cult recovery. She has a lived experience of ten years in the Osho/Rajneesh cult in the UK, India, Canada and the United States. Her memoir, A Slice of Orange: loving and leaving the Osho/Rajneesh cult will be published by Unsolicited Press in December, 2026 and is now available for preorder. Nicola was adjunct faculty at National…

People in this episode

Host: Samantha Sellers

Guest: Nicola Ranson

Topics covered

• cult recovery
• personal experience
• spirituality
• community
• disillusionment

Keywords

• Osho
• cult
• recovery
• disillusionment
• spirituality
• community
• psychotherapy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Osho Rajneesh community, Unsolicited Press, National University, Survivors of Torture, International

Books & works: A Slice of Orange: loving and leaving the Osho/Rajneesh cult, Tattooed Trucks of Nepal – Horn Please!

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• Inside the Two by Twos: On Survival, Creativity, and Finding Her Voice · July 8, 2026 · 1h 22m
• When the Church Outs You and What Exclusion Costs You · June 24, 2026 · 51 min
• The Queer Christian · June 17, 2026 · 1h 13m

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