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The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Heart-wrenchingly personal…dizzying.” —Rolling Stone
From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog—now the subject of a new Hulu docuseries—and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.
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.
“Heart-wrenchingly personal…dizzying.” —Rolling Stone
From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog—now the subject of a new Hulu docuseries—and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.
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.
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Community Reviews
I was pretty surprised I’ve only recently heard of this story, considering how recent it is, but I watched the Hulu docuseries on Ruby and it had me mind boggled. I knew I had to read Shari’s story when I saw it and even though I knew the outcome, it still shocked me. This story is sad and crazy but unfortunately the themes are most likely not as uncommon as we may hope. I am amazed by Shari’s strength and courage despite everything she’s gone through and I’m glad she was able to speak out about her perspective. This is definitely worth the read but make sure you’re aware of the story (at least a little) before diving in because it covers some heavy topics that could be triggering to a lot of people.
Well done. I feel like this was very healing for Shari to share the truth and her perspective. I feel so sad for her and her siblings. Every child deserves to have a loving, nurturing childhood. The narcissism of her mother and the brainwashing that occurred in the family from Jodi is horrendous. Shari is so brave, and I'm glad she still has a good relationship with God and the church.
I feel bad to say that I enjoyed this book? But it was a well written book that gave more insight into the life of one of Ruby Franke's children, her oldest Shari Franke.
Shari discusses her childhood and growing up in a home broadcasted in YouTube with an emotionally and physically abusive mother hiding behind the facade.
This was very well written and Shari even narrated the audiobook. It was powerful to hear her voice describing what she, her siblings, and family went through behind closed doors while the Ruby Franks crafted a false narrative of a loving home.
I could relate to Shari a lot, having also survived a narcissistic and emotionally abusive mother. This was a hard one to listen to, but also therapeutic in a way to see someone as strong as Shari also come out the other side.
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