Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz

 

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 acting career was set to soar, but her personal life was beginning to unravel in ways her fans could never imagine. Unknown to the millions of viewers and even her costars, Lenz led a secret double life within a cult.

As an only child seeking belonging, Lenz thought she found a safe haven in a Bible study group with fellow Hollywood creatives. However, the group morphed into something more sinister—a web of manipulation and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family. Piece by piece, Lenz surrendered her autonomy, eventually moving to the Family’s Pacific Northwest compound overseen by a domineering minister who convinced her to marry his son and secretly drained millions from 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 escape and spare her child from a similar fate. After nearly a decade (and with the unlikely help from a devoted One Tree Hill fan), she broke free from the family’s grip, beginning her healing journey from deep trauma that reshaped her faith and identity. - Simon & Schuster

I picked up this book despite not knowing much about Bethany Joy Lenz.  I never saw an episode of One Tree Hill and my only knowledge of it comes from gag clips shown on The Soup in the early 00s.  My only frame of reference for her was Savoring Paris, a Hallmark movie from last summer that was really cute.  I picked up Dinner for Vampires because I am fascinated by cults and the hows and whys someone falls into them and I was curious about life working on a hit television show.  Fortunately, this memoir was interesting even as a non-fan of Ms. Lenz and is a great example of how cults can take members in slowly then quickly manipulate, gaslight and subvert their personal beliefs.  Her memoir focuses heavily on her years in the cult and the losses she suffered as a result as well her hard won and triumphant escape.  Her memoir though is light on behind the scenes stories from her days on One Tree Hill which I imagine may disappoint some of those fans but perhaps she doesn’t have many stories to tell there as her personal life was overtaken by her years in the cult.  Overall Dinner for Vampires was a well-written and interesting memoir that sheds light on a smaller lesser known cult.

I received my copy of Dinner for Vampires through my local library.  You can pick yours up there or at your favorite local book store or online shop. You can also visit the publisher link above for more information.