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My BOTM Pick for November: Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult) by Bethany Joy Lenz; Retail Value $20.29
Back of Book Summary:
In the early 2000s, after years of hard work and determination to break through as an actor, Bethany Joy Lenz was finally cast as one of the leads on the hit drama One Tree Hill. Her career was about to take off, but her personal life was slowly beginning to unravel. What none of the show’s millions of fans knew, hidden even from her costars, was her secret double life in a cult.
An only child who often had to fend for herself and always wanted a place to belong, Lenz found the safe haven she’d been searching for in a Bible study group with other Hollywood creatives. However, the group soon morphed into something more sinister—a slowly woven web of manipulation, abuse, and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family. Piece by piece, Lenz began to give away her autonomy, ultimately relocating to the Family’s Pacific Northwest compound, overseen by a domineering minister who would convince Lenz to marry one of his sons and steadily drained millions of her TV income without her knowledge. Family “minders” assigned to her on set, “Maoist struggle session”–inspired meetings in the basement of a filthy house, and regular counseling with “Leadership” were just part of the tactics used to keep her loyal.
Only when she became a mother did Lenz find the courage to leave and spare her child from a similar fate. After nearly a decade (and with the unlikely help of a One Tree Hill superfan), she finally managed to escape the family’s grip and begin to heal from the deep trauma that forever altered her relationship with God and her understanding of faith.
My Summary
Girl moves to Hollywood with stars in her eyes and a SAG card in her pocket. Girl lands a lead role as girl-next-door on a hit TV show. If this was a story scripted in Hollywood, the end credits would roll with Bethany Joy Lenz living happily ever after, her dreams of fame and fortune realized.
But Bethany Joy Lenz isn't Haley James Scott, the character she portrayed for nine years on the CW's One Tree Hill. She's an actress who was drawn to Hollywood when she wasn't much older than the girl she'd come to play on TV.
Juggling auditions and trying to make rent, the real-life Lenz found that living clear across the country from everything she'd known growing up wasn't exactly easy. So when a friend invites her to attend a Bible study group, Lenz jumps at the chance to spend time with other Christians just like her.
Before long, the group had shifted as a charismatic leader took the reins, and Lenz found herself living a dual life as a working actress on a popular TV show and a member of a radical Christian group she'd come to call The Big House Family. Eventually marrying the pastor's son and giving birth to a child, Lenz finds herself being pulled farther and farther from her childhood dreams.
Drawn from journals Lenz wrote during a decade spent in the group she terms a cult, Dinner For Vampires details the insidious tactics the group's leadership used to alienate her from friends and family and siphon millions from her Hollywood bank account, and recounts the triumphant story of a mother determined to escape an abusive marriage for the sake of her child.
The Verdict
Celebrity memoirs tend to be lumped together as gossipy, ghostwritten trash designed by the celeb's PR machine to build up their image.
This November BOTM Club was anything but. Following in the footsteps of fellow child star Jennette McCurdy and singer Jessica Simpson, Bethany Joy Lenz has brought another round of authentic storytelling to the celebrity memoir genre.
In Dinner for Vampires, Lenz has crafted a raw and honest retelling of the years she spent living two very different lives that's well paced and engaging. With the help of her journals, Lenz relates details that give shape to the myriad ways fringe religious leaders prey on the vulnerable and what made her particularly susceptible to their tactics.
Lenz makes a point to note she's changed names and certain details to protect others in the Big House Family whose own families may not know they were involved. This includes the names of other actresses and actors who played a pivotal role in her early involvement in the group. Whether the names are disguised for legal reasons or ethical ones, it helps prevent Dinner for Vampires from feeling like a trashy tell-all book.
Bottom line — If you're looking for something fun and frothy, this book is not for you. If you're looking to better understand how it is that cult leaders can so successfully wreak havoc on innocent people, this BOTM Club book pick is a must-add to your next box.
Value — Was This Box Worth It?
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