PERSONAL BIO

For ten years of my life, I wore orange as a disciple of the notorious guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, later known as Osho. I met Rajneesh in India, and when he moved to the United States, I followed him to participate in constructing the city of Rajneeshpuram on a hundred-square-mile ranch in Oregon’s high desert. The commune was my home until its collapse following an FBI raid in 1985. I was on security duty the day of the raid, and my utopian bubble burst when the evidence revealed that our cult had perpetuated the largest bioterrorist attack in modern American history. (Portrayed in the 2018 Way Brothers hit Netflix series, “Wild, Wild Country.”)

My memoir, A Slice of Orange, covers what led me to join a cult, how I recovered from the psychological devastation – and the many joyful times in between. My journey led to a career as a trauma therapist, and a life-long fascination with the psychology of persuasion.

At the age of ten, I left England (and my beloved rabbit) when my family emigrated to Canada. There, I lived in a Convent school until I was old enough to join the counterculture, travel and explore magic and theatre. My interest in psychology and spirituality led me to the Rajneesh ashram in India where I participated in my first naked encounter group. I became a disciple, and later moved to Oregon. After the commune collapsed amid allegations of mass poisonings and attempted murder, I set out to discover what had really happened, who was responsible, and how I had become part of something that was the opposite of all I believed. I became a psychotherapist and learned that we are all subject to influence and control, and have inner guidance that can bring us home one step at a time.

I hold a BA in Drama and English from Bristol University, England, and a Masters in Social Work from San Diego State University, California. I was Adjunct Faculty at National University’s Counseling Psychology program for seventeen years and have provided services for Survivors of Torture, International, San Diego. In my therapy practice I help people uncover the strength and resilience inherent in each of us as we face our pasts and reclaim our adventurous spirits. I’ve worked with survivors from multiple cults. In 2025, I presented on cult recovery at the International Cultic Studies Association conference in Montréal, Canada.

Writing credits include “Shaking the Tree: Brazen. Short. Memoir”, the Journal of Expressive Writing, The Mighty, Stage Directions, Somatic Psychotherapy Today, and Advanced Computer Entertainment. I was a winner in the San Diego Memoir Association’s competition in 2019 and 2020, and in 2022 the screenplay I co-wrote for  “Tattooed Trucks of Nepal – Horn Please” won “Best Script” at the Sicily Art Film Festival.

A lifetime of chronic illness, a recent bout with cancer, and my years as a somatic therapist have led to the creation of Plant Talk: Nature's Healing Advice (unpublished).  I live with my husband, film-maker Ron Ranson in southern California where I enjoy wild rabbits and giant sunflowers.