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    Member of the Family: My Story of Charles Manson, Life Inside His Cult, and the Darkness that Ended the Sixties
    Member of the Family: My Story of Charles Manson, Life Inside His Cult, and the Darkness that Ended the Sixties
    Member of the Family: My Story of Charles Manson, Life Inside His Cult, and the Darkness that Ended the Sixties
    Audiobook12 hours

    Member of the Family: My Story of Charles Manson, Life Inside His Cult, and the Darkness that Ended the Sixties

    Written by Dianne Lake and Deborah Herman

    Narrated by Dianne Lake

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    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 century’s most notorious criminals and life as one of his ""girls.""

    At age fourteen Dianne Lake—with little more than a note in her pocket from her hippie parents granting her permission to leave them—became one of ""Charlie’s 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 Manson’s true nature revealed itself. From Spahn ranch and the group acid trips, to the Beatles’ White Album and Manson’s dangerous messiah-complex, Dianne tells the riveting story of the group’s descent into madness as she lived it.

    Though she never participated in any of the group’s 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 prosecution’s 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateOct 24, 2017
    ISBN9780062749734
    Author

    Dianne Lake

    Dianne Lake is a retired special-education teacher and mother of three.

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    Reviews for Member of the Family

    4.5/5

    128 ratings13 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This book is equal parts of jaw-dropping and heartbreaking.

      I was born in the late 70s, was a child of the 80s, and a teen of the 90s. I read "Helter Skelter," "In Cold Blood," and "Stranger Beside Me" in high school. My childhood and teen years were marked by true crime books, Waco, OJ, Murrah building bombing, Andrew Cunanan, and numerous child abductions and abuse. In many ways, I was aware of the dark side of humanity by the time I became an adult and as a woman, I've learned how to keep myself as safe as possible.

      So this book really nailed home that idea of how innocent and naive were people in the 60s. How drop-ins, mass concerts, and communes weren't bad things full of potential predators but rather a way of rejecting the establishment.

      So many times in reading this I wanted to yell at her parents. I wanted to demand why they didn't protect their daughter, why they didn't see the potential darkness in their irresponsibility. But that's looking at historical events with current eyes. They didn't see anything wrong because they were not as aware of the evil lurking in the shadows as we are today.

      The recollection of Dianne and her time in the sixties-in communes and with Charlie Manson was equal parts triggering, painful, and hurtful. This book really nailed down for me what happens when naivete and evil intersect.

      If you've read "Helter Skelter," if you're interested in cults or the 60's this is a must-read book.

      3 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Finally real accounts from someone who was there not like other authors of Manson studying it years later . The answer to was it a “race war “or not is on these pages. Dianne was able to be a loving mother while her mother DID know better she was not under the chains of an abusive husband but a self involved husband . She knew better
      It’s not a generational thing either mothers have been having there children come first for centuries.
      Thank you Dianne your spirit was not broken but remains your a sweet, gentle woman I know this because I have heard you talk of your mother and you don’t blame her I don’t think I can ever find myself to forgive my Mom know matter how much I’ve work on myself . Well written could not put it down I had to read through Audio book
      Finished it in one day
    • 4/5
      An insider’s retelling of Charles Manson’s family and it’s conditioning
    • 5/5
      Thank you for your strength and honesty Diane, wonderfully written!
    • 5/5
      Captivated me from the very beginning. Well edited. Nor redundant. Gave me a much deeper understanding of what life was like in the Manson cult. Thoughtfully told book which I highly recommend. Diane Lake is very open about her life and made no excuses at all. She is truly an amazing women who lived through a piece of history that we all need to understand more clearly. By reading this book it will indeed open your eyes to just how vulnerable we all truly are.
    • 5/5
      A good, teen-age perspective on the Manson fiasco. Fleshes out the real-life characters... young people making stupid mistakes. By the grace of God, she avoided going on a murderous, late-night creepy crawl. Even though she is a born-again Christian, I appreciate her candor about the sex and drug use. Five stars. Where's Ruth Ann's story?
    • 5/5
      This book just kept me hooked. Diannes Story was fascinating, before the sad parts. She went through all of that, and is a very strong woman. She told her story with class and honesty. I really enjoyed her story and her narration of the book. Such a strong woman. Loved it! I’m so sorry she had to go through what she did with Manson. Hugs Dianne Lake.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book. Honest, objective and well written. I recommend it.
    • 5/5
      Dianne Lake is only 14 years old when she becomes a member of the Manson family. While she was not present for any of the murders, how she became a member of the family, and why she stayed with the increasingly abusive and unhinged Manson makes for a riveting story. Major trigger warnings!
    • 2/5
      This is sometimes a very hard story to listen to. However, Dianne Lake's strength in getting her life back on track after her 2 years in the Manson clan is just simply amazing!
    • 4/5
      Murder of The Family: My Story of Charles Manson, Life Inside His Cult, and the Darkness That Ended The Sixties🍒🍒🍒🍒
      By Dianne Lake & Deborah Herman
      2017
      Harper Collins

      The youngest member to join the "Manson Family" at 14, she climbed into their blacked out bus and had no idea her life would never be the same.
      A member for 2 years Dianne did not participate in the murders, and did testify against them in their capitol murder case in 1970. The disturbing and crazy life she endured eventually gave her the courage and strength to survive their memory.
      Really good. Recommended.
    • 3/5
      It's hard to believe how people could have been so easily conned by Charles Manson's shtick, but Dianne Lake, the author of this book, tries to explain how that did indeed happen. She was 14 years old when she joined his cult and claims that she was never aware of the Tate and LaBianca murder sprees until they were over. Her drug usage and state of mind landed her in a mental facility for 8 months once she was arrested. She managed to recover, get married, have children, and lead what appears to be a normal life. I didn't feel a great deal of empathy for her, unfortunately, and I wish I could have; but such extreme naivete and gullibility just make me impatient.
    • 4/5
      Dianne Lake was 14 years old when she met Charles Manson and was drawn into his Family, then a ragtag group of hippies living a communal life with few possessions. But things turn dark fairly quickly. I applaud Dianne for finding the courage to tell this story, which must surely have brought back many painful memories. We see how Manson was able to pull in Dianne and other young women through his ability to quickly determine their emotional needs as well as their fears. Fortunately she wasn't involved in the murders, but she is candid about her life with a father who introduced her to drugs and a mother who couldn't seem to find the strength to challenge his ideas, as well as her time with the Manson Family.