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MEMBER OF THE FAMILY
By: Dianne Lake
William Morrow
November 2017
On Sale: October 24, 2017
384 pages
ISBN: 0062695576
EAN: 9780062695574
Kindle: B01MZF5LYF
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Memoir
In this poignant and disturbing memoir of lost innocence, coercion, survival, and healing, Dianne Lake chronicles her years with Charles Manson, revealing for the first time how she became the youngest member of his Family and offering new insights into one of the twentieth centuryβs most notorious criminals and life as one of his "girls." At age fourteen Dianne Lakeβwith little more than a note in her pocket from her hippie parents granting her permission to leave themβbecame one of "Charlieβs girls," a devoted acolyte of cult leader Charles Manson. Over the course of two years, the impressionable teenager endured manipulation, psychological control, and physical abuse as the harsh realities and looming darkness of Charles Mansonβs true nature revealed itself. From Spahn ranch and the group acid trips, to the Beatlesβ White Album and Mansonβs dangerous messiah-complex, Dianne tells the riveting story of the groupβs descent into madness as she lived it. Though she never participated in any of the groupβs gruesome crimes and was purposely insulated from them, Dianne was arrested with the rest of the Manson Family, and eventually learned enough to join the prosecutionβs case against them. With the help of good Samaritans, including the cop who first arrested her and later adopted her, the courageous young woman eventually found redemption and grew up to lead an ordinary life. While much has been written about Charles Manson, this riveting account from an actual Family member is a chilling portrait that recreates in vivid detail one of the most horrifying and fascinating chapters in modern American history. Member of the Family includes 16 pages of photographs.
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