The house of my mother : a daughter's quest for freedom

Author

Shari Franke

Call Number

• 364.1555 F8292 (CEN)

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Edition

First Gallery Books hardcover edition.

Publication Information

New York : Gallery Books, 2025.

Physical Description

xviii, 297 pages ; 24 cm

Summary

"Shari Franke's childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface--Ruby's wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined. As the family's YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby's delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime. Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: "Finally." For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family's devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt's cultish life coaching program, "ConneXions." No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother's cruelty."--

Contents

• Introduction : Finally
• Part one : The garden of earthy delights
• Sealed
• Teardrops
• Mommy isn't very nice to me
• The rage inside
• Pioneers
• Ruby's rage
• Refuge
• Part two : Ship of fools
• A star is born
• Baby climbs out of crib
• Remodeling reality
• Teenage influencer
• I don't think my mother loves me
• Busted
• Mommy's little drama queen
• One million followers
• Part three : The conjurer
• Snake in the garden
• The cult of ConneXions
• Isolation tactics
• Winning the self-loathing Olympics
• Dirty laundry
• Jodi says
• Burn it and be damned
• Obedient little drone
• The demon in my room
• Part four : Mankind beset by devils
• Ninth passenger
• In spirit and in truth
• Dirty, shameful, ruined
• Grateful
• Jingle hell
• Children are not entitled to a magical childhood
• Poisoned well
• Seeds of healing
• Puppets and puppeteers
• Facsimile father
• Care package
• Fawn
• Showdown
• Part five : Fall of the damned
• The echo chamber
• Abandoned by justice
• Mommy's mausoleum
• True crimes
• The house of my mother
• Rings of remembrance
• Evidence in plain sight
• Home sweet home
• Judgment day
• Ruby's journal
• It ends here
• Epilogue : seven passengers.