Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While also in an Actual Cult!)
Bethany Joy Lenz
Oct 2024 · Simon and Schuster
4.9star
10 reviewsreport
Ebook
320
Pages
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About this ebook
An “incredible” (Alex Cooper, Call Her Daddy), “riveting” (People) New York Times bestselling memoir by One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz about her decade in a cult and her quest to break free.
In the early 2000s, after years of hard work and determination to break through as an actor, Bethany Joy Lenz was finally cast as one of the leads on the hit drama One Tree Hill. Her acting career was set to soar, but her personal life was beginning to unravel in ways her fans could never imagine. Unknown to the millions of viewers and even her costars, Lenz led a secret double life within a cult.
As an only child seeking belonging, Lenz thought she found a safe haven in a Bible study group with fellow Hollywood creatives. However, the group morphed into something more sinister—a web of manipulation and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family. Piece by piece, Lenz surrendered her autonomy, eventually moving to the Family’s Pacific Northwest compound overseen by a domineering minister who convinced her to marry his son and secretly drained millions from her TV income without her knowledge. Family “minders” assigned to her on set, “Maoist struggle session”—inspired meetings in the basement of a filthy house, and regular counseling with “Leadership” were just part of the tactics used to keep her loyal.
Only when she became a mother did Lenz find the courage to escape and spare her child from a similar fate. After nearly a decade (and with the unlikely help from a devoted One Tree Hill fan), she broke free from the family’s grip, beginning her healing journey from deep trauma that reshaped her faith and identity.
Written with powerful honesty and dark humor, Dinner for Vampires is a “tart, refreshing” (The New York Times Book Review) story about the importance of identity and understanding what you believe.
In the early 2000s, after years of hard work and determination to break through as an actor, Bethany Joy Lenz was finally cast as one of the leads on the hit drama One Tree Hill. Her acting career was set to soar, but her personal life was beginning to unravel in ways her fans could never imagine. Unknown to the millions of viewers and even her costars, Lenz led a secret double life within a cult.
As an only child seeking belonging, Lenz thought she found a safe haven in a Bible study group with fellow Hollywood creatives. However, the group morphed into something more sinister—a web of manipulation and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family. Piece by piece, Lenz surrendered her autonomy, eventually moving to the Family’s Pacific Northwest compound overseen by a domineering minister who convinced her to marry his son and secretly drained millions from her TV income without her knowledge. Family “minders” assigned to her on set, “Maoist struggle session”—inspired meetings in the basement of a filthy house, and regular counseling with “Leadership” were just part of the tactics used to keep her loyal.
Only when she became a mother did Lenz find the courage to escape and spare her child from a similar fate. After nearly a decade (and with the unlikely help from a devoted One Tree Hill fan), she broke free from the family’s grip, beginning her healing journey from deep trauma that reshaped her faith and identity.
Written with powerful honesty and dark humor, Dinner for Vampires is a “tart, refreshing” (The New York Times Book Review) story about the importance of identity and understanding what you believe.
Ratings and reviews
4.9
10 reviews
Amanda Wells
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November 21, 2024
This was an amazing read and incredibly heartfelt.
Pauline Torres
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January 9, 2025
love it
About the author
Bethany Joy Lenz starred in the hit TV series One Tree Hill. Her other acting credits include Guiding Light, Grey’s Anatomy, Charmed, Felicity, Suits, Dexter, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She is also a recording artist who has released several albums. Lenz currently cohosts the podcast Drama Queens and is the founder/editor-in-chief of the broadsheet newspaper Modern Vintage News.
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