Jesselyn Cook presents The Quiet Damage at the Harvard Book Store
A nonfiction book about QAnon’s devastating impact on families in the U.S.
Vivian Hir–The Tech
Jesselyn Cook
The Quiet Damage
Harvard Book Store
August 22, 2024
On Thursday, August 22, 2024, reporter Jesselyn Cook presented The Quiet Damage, her latest narrative nonfiction book, at the Harvard Book Store. Gina Smith, an investigations editor for McClathy’s South Carolina newspapers, was the moderator for the event. A 2025 Nieman Fellow at Harvard, Cook is known for her outstanding coverage of online conspiracy theories and their repercussions on American society. Previously, Cook was an investigative reporter for NBC News and a senior reporter for HuffPost. The Quiet Damage is Cook’s debut book.
The Quiet Damage follows the devastating effects of QAnon’s conspiracy theories on the lives of five families in the U.S. Founded in 2017, QAnon is a far-right political conspiracy theory group that started on 4chan and skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic. Each family in The Quiet Damage has a member who becomes an ardent believer in QAnon, causing relationships that were once loving and stable to disintegrate. Through these stories, Cook explores the psychological journey of how normal people end up believing in conspiracy theories, and how some eventually recognize the harm of these outrageous beliefs.
Cook began the event by reading a chapter about two Black sisters in Michigan who are radically different—Tayshia is a BLM activist, while Kendra is a QAnon believer. Despite these conflicting identities, the two remain in close contact because Tayshia takes care of Kendra’s two sons, Jayden and Jonah. Tayshia and her husband Buck love their nephews dearly, but Tayshia is concerned that Kendra’s conspiracy theories are seeping into seven-year-old Jonah’s mind, adding more friction to the family’s fragile relationship.
As Cook reads the excerpt, the audience is immersed in the passage’s many vivid details that made the story come to life, from Buck and Jonah’s tight-knit relationship to the tense dialogue between Tayshia and Jonah. By making the story feel real and intimate, Cook’s reading not only effectively cultivates sympathy for the family members, but also powerfully highlights the heartbreaking toll of QAnon on family relationships.
Cook was inspired to write about this challenging topic while reporting for a QAnon rally in August 2020. At the event, Cook witnessed a man who brought his young son to the rally—the son’s shirt had the word “adreNOchrome,” expressing a popular belief in QAnon circles that rich elites harvest adrenochrome (a chemical compound formed by the oxidation of adrenaline) from children’s blood to stay healthy. This jarring encounter prompted Cook to investigate the damaging impact of QAnon on families.
“I was just looking at this kid and I was thinking: what is he hearing at home? What is he growing up to believe in?” Cook said, reflecting upon the encounter. She eventually wrote an article about the children of QAnon believers on HuffPost, which went viral. In response to her piece, Cook received hundreds of emails from people all over the country who desperately wanted to help their family members who believed in QAnon but didn’t know how. Wanting to know the answer to this difficult question, Cook decided to write a book about this topic.
In order to write The Quiet Damage, Cook reached out to many families who were interested in sharing their stories. Cook ultimately chose the five families for the book in order to break the stereotype that QAnon believers are “conservative, white baby boomer conspiracy theorists.” Cook does an excellent job of selecting people from various demographics who don’t necessarily fit the traditional notion of a QAnon believer: one person is a wealthy white lawyer who voted for Obama twice, while another is a former Bernie Sanders supporter. By doing so, Cook emphasizes how vulnerable anyone is to QAnon, no matter their background.
Although QAnon’s presence has waned after the pandemic, Cook argues that QAnon is still relevant due to its influence in modern far right politics. “What QAnon has done very effectively is usher these ideas into the mainstream,” Cook explains, further elaborating that even some elected leaders have subscribed to QAnon’s beliefs. While Cook does not anticipate QAnon returning to its original form, she is still wary of QAnon’s ability to shift the Overton window, the range of socially acceptable political beliefs.
For most people, the idea of believing in QAnon is baffling because of the group’s ridiculous beliefs. Cook, however, offers a compelling explanation for people becoming cult-like adherents of QAnon. From Cook’s extensive experience with QAnon believers, she realized many people enter this downward spiral during a time of great vulnerability and loneliness. Being in the QAnon community satisfied their psychological needs of belonging and purpose.
While the purpose of QAnon may appear to be seeking the truth, Cook believes that the actual reason is more complex. “They’re not really interested in the objective truth,” Cook states. “It’s less about what they know and more about how it makes them feel.” Therefore, the solution to deprogram QAnon believers is not through facts and logic, but by recognizing their vulnerabilities and underlying needs.
Implementing these deprogramming strategies requires immense patience and devotion from loved ones. Methods such as Socratic questioning and motivational interviewing must be used to slowly change their family member’s mind for the better, with no guarantee of improvement. While Cook admits that not all the families in the book have happy endings, she recognizes that success stories do exist.
The Quiet Damage can be difficult to read for its heart-wrenching stories in which QAnon causes beloved family members to become strangers. Despite this, Cook’s writing shines for its thorough investigation and captivating storytelling, making the book an engaging read. Not only does Cook dive deep into the intricacies of how people become QAnon believers, but she also considers tangible solutions to help people escape this pernicious conspiracy theory group. Instead of viewing QAnon believers from a place of judgment, Cook encourages readers to be empathetic. In an era where political extremism is on the rise globally, The Quiet Damage is a must-read.