Member Of The Family: A Tragic Story Of Charles Manson’s Family

How did a fourteen-year-old girl from Minnesota, from a conservative background, end up in Charles Manson’s household? Dianne Lake tries answering this question in her memoir Member Of The Family. Dianne Lake, the youngest member of Manson’s clan, wrote her autobiography Member Of The Family. Dianne Lake’s perspective is unique in this book. Charles Manson’s family is seen from the perspective of a child. The tragic tale of Member of the Family focuses on family.

Dianne’s family is a mess when you first look at it. At first glance, they appeared to be an ordinary family. They were a normal family on the surface. Diane’s dad was restless. Dianne remembers that her father had never been the same since he returned from Korea. He was good at art and had a dream of earning a livelihood from it. He sold his work and received some attention from Minnesota. Dianne’s dad was still restless, despite his success. He met another woman because of his restlessness. He left his family behind and went to live with her. He returned to live with his wife, children, and family. Dianne’s dad began experimenting with Marijuana after he returned. He started reading Timothy Leary’s books and embraced the philosophy of hippies. Dianne mentions in her book several times that her mother loved her father because he is a freethinker. She worshipped his intelligence. She believed he was infallible. Dianne’s husband and mother started smoking pot together soon after. Dianne remembers that she smoked her first joint around the age 11 or 12. This conservative Minnesotan family is a mess. Dianne’s Dad decided, after several drug-related years, that the family should move to California. After moving to California, Dianne’s father decided that the family would tune out and leave. The family decided to move out of the mainstream and into a hippie-style commune. Dianne, who was just fourteen years old, was a teenager in an era when free love was popular. Many hippies didn’t know how to treat her. Leaders of the commune didn’t like the idea that she would end up having sexual relations, so they expelled her. Dianne’s forced departure is one the saddest parts of the book. Her parents are not with her. Dianne is given permission to travel anywhere by her parents. They simply write it on paper. Imagine yourself at fourteen, on your very own. Her parents were hippies who believed that parents shouldn’t dictate what their children should do. Dianne was just fourteen when they told her she could live and do anything she wanted. This downward spiral in Dianne’s life is a sure sign of her eventual demise.

Dianne says she was astonished when Charles Manson first appeared in her life. He looked like a spiritual teacher. She claims he was able to see her soul. And he knew immediately who she is and what she needs. The first time she saw him, he invited her into his room where he had an affair with a fourteen-year-old. Dianne remembers Charles Manson as being loving, compassionate, and kind in the beginning. The parties would include all the participants taking LSD and having group sex. Manson was the only one who took less LSD during these LSD parties. He was in total control. After everyone has been high, he will start to teach them the new age philosophy. He taught that they must kill their egos in order to be truly free. He eventually began to claim that he was God. Manson would act out the Crucifixion. Dianne claims that the group would take LSD 2-3 times per week. Manson’s actions are clear to anyone. He took away their free will, telling them to destroy their ego. Then he put them on LSD so that they would believe Manson is Jesus Christ. It is difficult to understand how Manson was able to brainwash a group of people into believing that he was Jesus Christ and removing their free will.

Manson’s actions were not new. In the 1960s when the hippie era was in full swing, it wasn’t unusual for people to seek spiritual guidance. The 1960s saw a plethora of cults leaders. Manson’s family and the cult he led would be darker than any other. Manson’s vision for his own family took a dark turn after he met Dennis Wilson, the drummer of the Beach Boys. Dennis Wilson liked the songs Manson wrote. Wilson wanted Manson’s album recorded, but no labels were interested. Dianne claims that Manson’s anger at the record labels led him to order his family members to kill. Manson, angry at the establishment for rejecting him, sought revenge. His family became pawns to his revenge-driven quest. Dianne, who was always getting into trouble and getting Manson on his nerves, wasn’t trusted to go on the two-night killing spree with family members. Dianne said that she did not know the family had murdered anyone until she saw the news about Sharon Tate’s murder. She claims that she was no longer interested in Manson and his family after this. Manson was eventually captured and sent into prison, along with his loyal troops. Dianne helped the prosecution in their trial and sent Manson and other members of his family to permanent prison. Dianne was put through a tough time after the trial. She was admitted to a psychiatric hospital because of the Schizophrenia she suffered from due to her persistent LSD use. She was adopted by the officer who found Manson and his family living at Spahn Ranch. Later, in her early 20s, she married and has led a happy existence ever since. Even though their relationship had been strained, she was able to reconnect with her mother. Dianne was treated horribly by her parents. It is difficult to imagine her ever being able to reconcile.

Member of the Family shows how the hippie counterculture destroyed a Minnesota family. Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood movie, about the Manson clan, has revived attention to Charles Manson’s unimaginable crimes. Dianne Lake’s Member Of The Family provides a detailed look at the story.