I didn’t have high expectations when I sat down to read One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz’s memoir about her time in a religious cult. Oh boy did it exceed them.
I don’t want to say much more than that and minimize the emotional wallop you’ll feel reading Bethany’s story in her own words. Just trust me: it’s incredibly captivating. I read it in one sitting in just a few hours. You’ll be rooting for her the whole time, to succeed and to escape.
A little Googling will tell you that the character Bethany calls “Harkin” in the story is actually former actor and millennial heartthrob Jonathan Jackson (not to be confused with fellow millennial heartthrob and Dawson’s Creek star Joshua Jackson). That made the whole tale feel even more surreal and wild.
I’ve now experienced this book twice — once in writing, once on audio. The audio has a genuinely fun surprise: several of her One Tree Hill costars read their own quotes in their own voices. But Lenz herself is a slightly grating narrator. Some of the voices she does to represent cult members are real weird, and her own delivery can feel overly expressive at times. So I’d probably recommend the written version first.
Either way, the story is just as wild and sad and unbelievable the second time through.
Highly recommended for fans of One Tree Hill, Minka Kelly’s Tell Me Everything, and Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.
PS: Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy.
