When thinking of cults most people will say Heaven’s Gate and The People’s Temple are the first they think of. Although many prominent cults have been debunked within the media, many have yet to be found. When actress Bethany Joy Lenz became a prominent figure in the media, there was a consistent rumor spreading that she was involved with a cult. Although at the time she denied it, Lenz became aware of her participation in a cult afterward, leading her to write her memoir Dinner for Vampires.
Origins of her involvement
Lenz begins her memoir by recounting her journey of finding her passion within the acting industry, starting as a child who loved to perform in theatre. As her story carried on with the journey of her life, she narrates meeting her Bible group while living in Los Angeles to gain acting opportunities. She would go to Bible study, where she got close to the members of this group. During this time, the leader would often manipulate her into creating self-hatred for normal thoughts that people have. She was ridiculed during many meetings and over the phone for not thinking of God all the time and having other interests besides her faith.
Impact on her Career
After the success of One Tree Hill, Lenz was gaining new opportunities around every corner. She continued to get closer to all of the members of her cult, whom she called the “Big House Family.” This group benefited from her successes but didn’t support many of her other passions in her life. They manipulated her into donating money to projects for their group. Additionally, when Lenz married the son of the cult leader, she was forced to give him access to the money she was making from her acting, which he depleted by the end of their marriage.
One of Bethany Joy Lenz’s lifelong dreams was to play Belle in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast, but her cult leader disapproved of her going to pursue her passions in New York because she would become further from the cult, both physically and mentally. He persuaded Lenz not to take this opportunity because “God was calling her to come home.” This is just one of the opportunities that Lenz turned down due to being manipulated.
Impact on her Familial Relationships
This cult not only impacted her career, but also her relationships with her parents. As the cult became more intense, the members begin to call each other family. In retrospect, this seems fairly reasonable, but when it becomes questionable is when they start to call their parents “bio mom” and “bio dad” instead of just mom and dad. This is because the members believed that anyone outside their group was untrustworthy and would only spread false information regarding their faith.
With Lenz in particular, both of her parents questioned the legitimacy as well as the morals that their daughter was being taught at the “Big House.” This inevitably led to a break in the tie between their relationships. Although Lenz and her father did not speak for many years, after she managed to get out of the cult with her daughter, her father was a key supporter in her life in advocating for her parental rights for her daughter.
My Thoughts on the Book
I choose to listen to the audiobook rather than reading the physical edition of the book. I enjoyed hearing Lenz tell the story of overcoming this difficult journey in her voice, especially being a fan of One Tree Hill. It made the story more powerful, especially the inflections she gave other characters when reading their parts. As I was listening to this story, it was deeply disheartening, and I felt a sense of dread, knowing Lenz would only become more manipulated as the story progressed further.
Hearing her discuss the specificities of things her “Big House Family” told her to manipulate her was saddening, especially realizing the opportunities she missed out on due to this. This memoir has been one of the best I have personally read. It’s attention-grabbing and entices readers to learn more about how people are impacted by cults, not just the well-known ones, but all of them. The smaller the cult, the easier for them to disappear and not be exposed. As I finished this book, hearing how Bethany Joy Lenz was able to change the path she was on, specifically for the good of her daughter, gave me hope that those also deeply affected by cults and manipulative people can escape.