A deliciously witty and inspiring 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 breakthrough as an actor, Bethany Joy Lenz was finally cast as one of the leads on the hit drama One Tree Hill. Her career was about to take off, but her personal life was slowly beginning to unravel. What none of the show’s millions of fans knew, hidden even from her costars, was her secret double life in a cult. An only child who often had to fend for herself and always wanted a place to belong, Lenz found the safe haven she’d been searching for in a Bible study group with other Hollywood creatives. However, the group soon morphed into something more sinister—a slowly woven web of manipulation, abuse, and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family. Piece by piece, Lenz began to give away her autonomy, ultimately relocating to the Family’s Pacific Northwest compound, overseen by a domineering minister who would convince Lenz to marry one of his sons and steadily drained millions of 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 leave and spare her child from a similar fate. After nearly a decade (and with the unlikely help of a One Tree Hill superfan), she finally managed to escape the family’s grip and begin to heal from the deep trauma that forever altered her relationship with God and her understanding of faith. Written with powerful honesty and dark humor, Dinner for Vampires is an inspiring story about the importance of identity and understanding what you believe.

A deliciously witty and inspiring 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 breakthrough as an actor, Bethany Joy Lenz was finally cast as one of the leads on the hit drama One Tree Hill. Her career was about to take off, but her personal life was slowly beginning to unravel. What none of the show’s millions of fans knew, hidden even from her costars, was her secret double life in a cult. An only child who often had to fend for herself and always wanted a place to belong, Lenz found the safe haven she’d been searching for in a Bible study group with other Hollywood creatives. However, the group soon morphed into something more sinister—a slowly woven web of manipulation, abuse, and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family. Piece by piece, Lenz began to give away her autonomy, ultimately relocating to the Family’s Pacific Northwest compound, overseen by a domineering minister who would convince Lenz to marry one of his sons and steadily drained millions of 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 leave and spare her child from a similar fate. After nearly a decade (and with the unlikely help of a One Tree Hill superfan), she finally managed to escape the family’s grip and begin to heal from the deep trauma that forever altered her relationship with God and her understanding of faith. Written with powerful honesty and dark humor, Dinner for Vampires is an inspiring story about the importance of identity and understanding what you believe.

The enchanting new novel by the multimillion-copy bestselling author of What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, about five strangers who each seek comfort from a healing hippo ride. Nestled at the bottom of a five-story apartment block in the community of Advance Hill is the children's playground in Hinode Park, where you will find a very special age-old hippo ride named Kabahiko. According to urban legend, if you touch the exact part of the hippo where you have an ailment or wound, you will see swift signs of recovery. They call it "Healing Hippo." In The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park, the apartment residents each find their way to Kabahiko, confessing their troubles and drawing upon the hippo's rumored abilities. From a struggling student who pets the hippo's head to reverse his poor academic performance to the lonely new mother who hopes that touching the hippo's mouth will allow her to better express herself, this heartwarming, eclectic cast of characters will all come to Kabahiko for healing in their lives—though they may not always find it in the ways they expect. With Aoyama's classic charm and emotional power, The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park is a deeply moving celebration of kindness, community and understanding.

Transform your life using the Bullet Journal Method, the revolutionary organisational system and worldwide phenomenon. In his long-awaited first book, Ryder Carroll, the creator of the enormously popular Bullet Journal® organisational system, explains how to use his method to: • Track the past: using nothing more than a pen and paper, create a clear, comprehensive, and organised record of your thoughts and goals. • Order the present: find daily calm by prioritising and minimising your workload and tackling your to-do list in a more mindful and productive way. • Design the future: establish and appraise your short-term and long-term goals, plan more complex projects simply and effectively, and live your life with meaning and purpose. Like many of us, Ryder Carroll tried everything to get organised — countless apps, systems, planners, you name it. Nothing really worked. Then he invented his own simple system that required only pen and paper, which he found both effective and calming. He shared his method with a few friends, and before long he had a worldwide viral movement. Hundreds of thousands of Bullet Journal fans now spread the word and read Ryder's blog and newsletter. The system combines elements of a wishlist, a to-do list, and a diary. It makes it easy to get thoughts out of your head (an unreliable witness) and onto paper, to see them clearly and decide what to do about them. It helps you identify what matters, and set goals accordingly. By breaking long-term goals into small actionable steps, users map out an approachable path towards continual improvement, allowing them to stay focused despite the crush of incoming demands. But this is much more than a time management book. It's also a manifesto for what Ryder calls "intentional living:" making sure that your beliefs and actions align. Even if you already use a Bullet Journal®, this book gives you new exercises to become more calm and focused, new insights on how to prioritise well, and a new awareness of the power of analogue tools in a digital world.