I do want to preference today's post with a warning. The book that is being discussed details child abuse, child neglect, and its effects on the author. Please be cautious while reading below. This post may contain spoilers.
Hello everyone!
Today's book was one of my most anticipated reads for the year. I have known about Shari Franke, Ruby Franke, and 8 Passengers for quite a while. A friend of mine used to casually show my sister and I clips from the 8 Passengers' Youtube channel and we would be horrified that someone like Ruby Franke would post these types of things online for the world to see. Family vlog channels, in my opinion, are exploitive and should not exist. Parents should not be allowed to monetize their children's lives and embarrassing moments as a way to "create content". All people, especially children who cannot consent to their image/likeness being used online, have a right to privacy. I would like to add to please use your own discretion while looking into this story and the events that lead to both Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt's arrests in 2023. The images and story are very graphic and while not discussed in great detail within Shari Franke's book, are horrific.
Shari Franke is incredibly brave for sharing her story on her terms and in her own way. This book was, at times, very uncomfortable to read and I do think that this topic may be very heavy for some people. If that is the case, I'll see you in the next post. I did get my copy through Book of the Month. It was added as an optional add on for my January pick. I think that listening to the audiobook would change the reading experience; it is read by Franke herself. Let's get into it.
Here are the quick facts:
Publishers: Simon & Schuster
Publishing Date: January 7, 2025
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 5/5 stars
320 pages
Content Warnings: child abuse, child neglect, abuse, cult like behavior, ambiguous consent
Shari Franke is the eldest child of Ruby Franke, a very popular family blogger, who ran a Youtube channel named 8 Passengers where she created daily videos of herself and her family. Franke notes that her abuse started long before her mother's foray into blogging or vlogging, video blogging. Franke explains that from a young age she understood that her mother was not kind to her or her siblings. She notes some of the more memorable instances where Ruby's abuse was on full display and she received heavy criticism for it. One instance was when her younger brother Chad revealed in a video that Ruby had "taken away" his bedroom as punishment for pranking one of their younger siblings. Chad revealed that he slept on a bean bag chair for seven months. In another instance, Ruby recorded herself in her car explaining that her youngest child had forgotten to pack a lunch for school and when the school called to notify her about this, she told the school to not feed the child as it was their responsibility to pack their lunch for school. The child was in kindergarten. The abuse really ramped up when Ruby met Jodi Hildebrant, a family "psychologist" who scammed many families out of thousands of dollars with her courses on correcting behavior. As Ruby fell further into Jodi's cult, Shari and her siblings suffered. Shari also details the "relationship" she fell into with an older man who used her abuse and groomed behaviors to trap her into an affair she really didn't consent to.
This book pulls back the covers on the reality of family vlogging and the exploitation of children on social media. Shari Franke is not the first child to speak out on the harm that using children for social media content creates, and unfortunately she will not be the last. There are little to no laws that protect the children of these vloggers from generating millions in revenue on their private moments. I think Shari agreeing to write this book and participate in an upcoming documentary allowed her to take back some of the power that was taken away from her.
I would be remiss to not include the affect that religion had on Franke's upbringing and the abuse that she faced. The Frankes practice Mormonism, and Shari does still practice her faith. However, in certain religions, the pressure and expectation of women and their roles in the home, society and within the religion come into play with how those beliefs can create harm. Shari reflected on this in her memoir quite a few times, especially with regards to how her mother chose to parent. She almost implies that Ruby had no desire to become a mother, but only did so because becoming a mother and wife were expected of her. Religion doesn't cause people to become abusive or neglectful but the expectations of gender roles within religion have the potential to create that harm.
I always rate memoirs 5/5 because regardless of the writing style, tone, or subject, I find the bravery it takes to share your own story for the scrutiny of others inspiring. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there in this way. Simon and Schuster really nails it out of the park with their selections of authors for memoirs. They also published Jennette McCurdy, Anna Marie Tendler, and Bethany Joy Lenz's memoirs, all of which I have reviewed on this blog. I commend Shari Franke on taking back her power from the media who was trying to exploit her and her family's pain to create shock value with Ruby and Jodi's arrests and subsequent incarcerations. If you can handle a heavy book, I would highly recommend this one.
Until next time!
Links
Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 800-422-4453
Book of the Month: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-House-of-My-Mother/Shari-Franke/9781668065396
Simon and Schuster: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-House-of-My-Mother/Shari-Franke/9781668065396
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