Carole M. Cusack, Who Owns the Story of The Family? Ex-Member Memoirs, Journalistic Accounts, Novelists’ Recreations, and Member Testimonies Carole Cusack New Religious Movements: The Enduring Value of the Study of New Religions, University of Sydney, 20 October 2026

https://www.academia.edu/179975608/Carole_M_Cusack_Who_Owns_the_Story_of_The_Family_Ex_Member_Memoirs_Journalistic_Accounts_Novelists_Recreations_and_Member_Testimonies?email_work_card=title Australia’s most notorious and best-documented new religious movement, Anne Hamilton-Byrne’s The Family, has an instantly recognisable narrative about a beautiful, manipulative ‘cult’ leader, hybrid esoteric Hindu-Christian doctrines, psychedelic experimentation, and a cohort of adopted children raised in hardship and primed to survive an apocalyptic event. For a long time, there was little published material on The Family, but in 2026 there are now three novels, one journalistic account with accompanying documentary, a small number of ex-member memoirs, a television series, and three ‘insider’ volumes published by elderly Family members who remained faithful to Hamilton-Byrne’s charismatic presence and vision. These texts multiply the narratives about Hamilton-Byrne, her second-in-command Raynor Johnson, and the lifeways of the group during its two-decade flourishing from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. This growth in publications attests to ongoing and perhaps increasing interest in The Family in a social contexts where ‘cults’ are enjoying a revival in television, podcasts, and other social media. This paper assesses the relative value of these accounts and the legacy of The Family in Australia’s ‘cult’ scene.