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britt_gorey94 's review for:
The Family: The Shocking True Story of a Notorious Cult
by Chris Johnston, Rosie Jones
If you are like me and had never heard of the family before, then this book is your absolute go to guide.
"The Family" by Chris Johnston and Rosie Jones, is a thorough investigation into Ann Hamilton-Byrne, a cult leader and messiah in her own mind, who initiated what later became known as The Family, a cult in the Eildon area of Victoria, Australia. Adopting children in shady deals and accumulating wealth from her stronghold of followers, Anne created a group of people who believed she was the second coming of Jesus Christ, of property and land assets accumulating today in 10 million dollars and of a group of children, whose hair was forcibly bleached blonde and who had to dress the same for Anne to continue her illusion. This book follows those children in their escape from Anne's clutches and the police's dogged pursuit to bring any sort of justice to those whose lives Anne destroyed.
In the beginning, these chapters seemed strangely set up to me, with the escape from Uptop (The cults home for the children) ending the second chapter. I had expected, like so many movies and books before, that this would be a climatic moment, better saved for the end of the book.
How wrong I was.
This book does something unique by putting the escape in the early chapters of the book. It means that there is no "Happily Ever After" that we have become so accustomed to in such plots. Instead, it shines a light on what TRULY happens after these children escaped their captivity and truthfully, what happens after is in some ways, just as bad as the cult itself.
This book shows the real truth of what happens when a child raised in captivity is released and what happens to them for the long years after that release. It also pursued the police's dogged and excruciating study of this case in an attempt to convict Anne for all the wrongdoings that had occurred in the family.
One of the characters in the book states that no one is just a victim or just evil, that Anne blurred the lines for all those involved and this book strongly encapsulates that blurring.
Who is good and who is bad?
And perhaps, more importantly, how do these people so tied up as they were, forgive this person as they did?
A stunning look into the police work that surrounded the Family as well as the intricate workings of the cult itself.
It was an incredible read and I would highly recommend this to anyone into true crime or autobiography or even someone who might remember these events as they took place.
5/5 stars does not do this book justice.
"The Family" by Chris Johnston and Rosie Jones, is a thorough investigation into Ann Hamilton-Byrne, a cult leader and messiah in her own mind, who initiated what later became known as The Family, a cult in the Eildon area of Victoria, Australia. Adopting children in shady deals and accumulating wealth from her stronghold of followers, Anne created a group of people who believed she was the second coming of Jesus Christ, of property and land assets accumulating today in 10 million dollars and of a group of children, whose hair was forcibly bleached blonde and who had to dress the same for Anne to continue her illusion. This book follows those children in their escape from Anne's clutches and the police's dogged pursuit to bring any sort of justice to those whose lives Anne destroyed.
In the beginning, these chapters seemed strangely set up to me, with the escape from Uptop (The cults home for the children) ending the second chapter. I had expected, like so many movies and books before, that this would be a climatic moment, better saved for the end of the book.
How wrong I was.
This book does something unique by putting the escape in the early chapters of the book. It means that there is no "Happily Ever After" that we have become so accustomed to in such plots. Instead, it shines a light on what TRULY happens after these children escaped their captivity and truthfully, what happens after is in some ways, just as bad as the cult itself.
This book shows the real truth of what happens when a child raised in captivity is released and what happens to them for the long years after that release. It also pursued the police's dogged and excruciating study of this case in an attempt to convict Anne for all the wrongdoings that had occurred in the family.
One of the characters in the book states that no one is just a victim or just evil, that Anne blurred the lines for all those involved and this book strongly encapsulates that blurring.
Who is good and who is bad?
And perhaps, more importantly, how do these people so tied up as they were, forgive this person as they did?
A stunning look into the police work that surrounded the Family as well as the intricate workings of the cult itself.
It was an incredible read and I would highly recommend this to anyone into true crime or autobiography or even someone who might remember these events as they took place.
5/5 stars does not do this book justice.