Member of the Family: My Story of Charles Manson, Life Inside His Cult, and the Darkness That Ended the Sixties by Dianne Lake

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

This was an extremely interesting read. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I know that I didn't expect this.

Dianne Lake was a child of the 60s who just wanted to live a life of peace, love, and happiness. However, reading her story, it's pretty obvious early on that it wasn't going to be that way. Her father was restless and wanted nothing but to follow his dreams of painting America beautiful. Her mother follows along with what her father wants, no questions asked. When the family travels to California so her father could continue pursuing his dream. When the family decides to drop out of society, you can see that this is when Dianne really loses a chance at a normal life. Her and her siblings are taken out of school; they live in a van; they drop out from society-literally. From here, it is just a short time before Dianne is introduced to Charles Manson.

(Source: Rolling Stone Magazine)

Charles, or Charlie to members of the family, is clearly a replacement for her poor excuse of a father figure. He provides stability, fun times, and most importantly, love. And while there are good months, here and there, his real personality shows through. By the time that Dianne has seen who Charlie really is, she is in too deep, in every sense of the phrase. When Dianne learns of the murders, and that Charlie and others that she loves are at the center of it, Dianne has some serious decisions to make.

Okay, so I've heard stories of Charles Manson, watched documentaries; but reading about it from someone who was in the thick of it was eye opening. Not even just the parts about Manson, but how her parents acted. In the beginning, I had some hope for the parents. They reacted the proper way when they learned that Dianne's grandfather had some perverted ideas of ways to spend time with his granddaughter. And when her parents briefly separate, I really hoped for something. (Although that was my fault; she wouldn't have ended up with Charlie if her life had gone differently.) But her parents nonchalance killed me time and time again. Every time they let her take acid, or they let her run off with some stranger, my heart broke. I just wanted to pull this young girl into her arms and tell her that it's not right, but we'll go have a coffee and talk about it. You could tell her mom wanted things to go differently, especially the further into the book you go.

I knew that Charles was charismatic; to have a cult, the leader has to be. But reading about the firsthand accounts, I could see how anyone could have fallen for him. But I didn't know about his failed musical career. I wonder if any of this could have happened differently if he had been more successful. His physical abuse toward Dianne, and as she learns lately, the other girls. It shouldn't surprise me-he is a psychopath-but I was.

(Source: Giphy)

I wasn't surprised by how Dianne reacted; how she allowed herself to be sucked into his pull, and even how she had mixed feelings about what to do after the murders. That didn't make it any easier to read. Reading about someones life falling apart and them being completely helpless is extremely hard to read. Time and time again, I wanted to pull young Dianne out of the 60s and tell her that I'll help her. But, because it's an autobiography, I know that Dianne ended up fine. She found the love of her life, she had 3 children, she didn't let these few years define the rest of her life.

That was what I liked most about it. Dianne is a real inspiration to me after reading her story. I wasn't expecting that when I started the story.

Rating: 7/10
Author: Dianne Lake
Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography, History