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

Book description

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…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Member of the Family as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book is a true, firsthand account of Dianne Lake, a teenage member of the Manson family cult that horrifically murdered people in the 1960s while attempting to start a race war.

I found the book hard to put down for its insights into the mind of a young girl abandoned by her parents who found acceptance by a charming yet psychotic man and his band of adoring, troubled sycophants. This book also put the turbulent 60s into perspective.

Growing up in the sixties, I was disturbed and frightened by the discord in society, perhaps not unlike society today. People…

If you love Member of the Family...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Member of the Family?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Member of the Family.

Browse books like Member of the Family

Book cover of Noon at Tiffany's: An Historical, Biographical Novel
Book cover of Really Enough: A True Story of Tyranny, Courage and Comedy
Book cover of 1001 Nights in Iraq: The Shocking Story of an American Forced to Fight for Saddam Against the Country He Loves

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,367

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Member of the Family, you might also like...

Book cover of Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South

Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South by William D. Auman,

Award-winning novelist William Auman, author of If Trees Could Testify..., takes the reader on a time-traveling odyssey featuring 345 bodies of water in six states within the historical context through which they unfold.

Journey into remaining Colonial-era wilderness with stories of pirate treasure, epic frontiersmen, Indigenous Peoples, and Revolutionary…

Book cover of A Winter's Disgrace

A Winter's Disgrace by Kathleen Buckley,

Cyprian, a marquess’s heir, will not let his mother choose his next bride. Leaving a house party in a blizzard to avoid her stratagems, he finds a woman trudging half frozen toward the London road. Rosamund fled disgrace, hoping to reach the one person who might shelter her, but even…

5 book lists we think you will like!