Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While also in an Actual Cult!)

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To the public, Bethany Joy Lenz was known as one of the early 2000s it-girls as she starred on the popular teen drama One Tree Hill. However, behind the scenes, Lenz grappled with isolation as she yearned to find family through a seemingly harmless Bible study group. Over the next decade, the group morphed into a high-control, sinister organization, better known as a cult, draining Lenz of her TV millions and forcing her to stay in an abusive marriage. Only when her daughter is born does she regain her own autonomy and find the strength to leave the cult that controlled her life for far too long.

Despite being a fan of One Tree Hill, I had no idea what I was entering when I began the novel. From the very first page, Lenz captivates audiences by offering them a glimpse of what being in a highly controlled environment is really like. She notably points out how cults often seem like harmless ways of making friends and very few realize what they have been brainwashed into until they are already too deep within it. Lenz explains how she entered a cycle of numbness after so much of her autonomy was taken from her and how she’s been forced to let the past go, despite lingering trauma from this period. She also tackles the myth that “only stupid people would fall into cults” by pointing to the psychology of cults and their ability to capitalize on a person’s weaknesses.

For Lenz, this was her desire to experience family and unity following the divorce of her parents. While her novel does not dive into the specifics of her time on the actual TV show, she does explain the irony in being half of America’s healthiest teen couples on screen, while struggling to keep her marriage together off-screen. While avid One Tree Hill fans may find the behind-the-scenes information interesting, those who have not seen the show will still be intrigued by Lenz’s journey as an actor, her relationships within the group, and the lasting effects of being in a cult.

I read this novel cover-to-cover, a testament to Lenz’s writing style. Her words flow seamlessly and logically despite introducing a very large cast of characters. Her writing emphasizes her vulnerabilities and often made me emotional as she conveys her experiences, frustrations, and desires through the page. Each victory was met with heart-wrenching moments and readers can truly feel the emotional toll writing this story must have taken on her. The entire novel comes full circle with the birth of Lenz’s daughter and her circumstantial realization that her daughter deserves better than just being another dinner for vampires. Readers of all backgrounds can find relatability in her growing pains in or out of the cult, making Dinner for Vampires a must-read.


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Author Bethany Joy Lenz
Star Count 5/5
Format Hard
Page Count 320 pages
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Publish Date 22-Oct-2024
ISBN 9781668067307
Bookshop.org Buy this Book
Issue January 2025
Category Biographies & Memoirs
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