I will be listening to this episode with my mom. You should too. [Thank you for this Janet.]
The Synanon Fix brought me to Janet Best Dart via my preview of the HBO 2024 documentary. I have not yet got past episode one. We discussed it.
I finally found the mother contact to hear directly about ideology which shaped the cult I was in (Morningland), and the world's awful treatment of kids in the new age. Deidrich normalized it, sold it, institutionalized it.
Who better to share the woman's - the mother's - perspective of the Santa Monica cult which somehow became the model used today on children?
After our chat I wrote Janet a couple questions. Here they are.
Frankie: Where is your son now?
Janet: My son is now 48 and living in Raleigh, NC with his seven year old son. He is an amazing dad.
Frankie: How do you spend your time now?
I'm way too busy—something I probably learned in Synanon. I'm President of the Central Oregon Master Gardeners Association and coordinate all the technology for the group, along with coordinating a demonstration garden. I love to create my own garden at home, where we've converted lawns to low-water flower gardens.
And I quilt which seems to help calm my wandering mind. Maybe ordering the quilt pieces helps order my mind. There's a story in there somewhere.
In the winter, I snowshoe; in the summer, I go camping and kayaking and hike when I can.
My husband of 40+ years, Bruce, and I have a 40-year-old son who also lives here in Bend. My current life is echoing Synanon where my grandson is 2800 miles away.
Above are Janet’s comments on The Synanon Fix and watching it with her son.
The effects are generational.
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Her voice needs amplifying in a story media allows to be dominated by men.
Listen to last Tuesday's Frankie Files Podcast Ep. 92 at
https://frankietease.substack.com/listen/frankie-files-podcast
Support by buying art and color free daily too. It’s #survivortherapy.
https://frankietease.substack.com/s/frankietees
And keep critical thinking.
Synanon Mom -A Special Mother's Day Sneak Audio Preview of Janet Best Dart's Gripping Unpublished Memoir