Book: My Life in Orange

 Book: My Life In Orange

Author: Tim Guest

Pages: 320

This is my 209th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

At the age of 6, Tim Guest was taken by his mother to a commune modeled on the teachings of the notorious Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.  The Bhagwan preached an eclectic doctrine of Eastern mysticism, chaotic therapy, and sexual freedom, and enjoyed inhaling laughing gas, preaching from a dentist's chair, and collecting Rolls Royces.  Tim and his mother were given Sanskrit names, dressed entirely in orange, and encouraged to surrender thermselves into their new family.  While his mother worked tirelessly for the cause, Tim-or Yogesh, as he was not called - lived a life of well meaning but woefully misguided neglact in various communes in England, Oregon, India and Germany.  In 1985 the movement collapsed amid allegations of mass poisonings, attempted murder, and tax evasion, and Yogest was once again Time.  In this extraordinary memoir, Tim Guess chronicles the heartbreaking experience of being left alone on earth while his mother hunted heaven.

This was an interesting book.  Always interested in reading about cults and what draws people in.  He and his mother left the cult when he was 11, but Tim's life continued to be a struggle.  He died in his 30s of a drug overdose.  I read this book because it was part of the Rory Gilmore challenge, but glad I decided to finally tackle it.

Stars: 4