Slonim Woods 9

<b>An &#147;extraordinary&#148; (<i>Nylon</i>)</b> <b>firsthand account of the creation of a modern cult and the costs paid by its young victims: a group of college roommates</b> <br>&#160; <br><b>&#147;Intense . . . [a tale] of hard-won survival and creating a life after the unimaginable.&#148;&#151;<i>Salon</i></b> <br><br>In September 2010 at the beginning of the academic year at Sarah Lawrence College a sophomore named Talia Ray asked her roommates if her father could stay with them for a while. No one objected. Her father Larry Ray was just released from prison having spent three years behind bars after a conviction during a bitter custody dispute.<br><br>Larry Ray arrived at the dorm a communal house called Slonim Woods 9 and stayed for the whole year. Over the course of innumerable counseling sessions and &#147;family meetings&#148; the intense and forceful Ray convinced his daughter&#146;s friends that he alone could help them &#147;achieve clarity.&#148; Eventually Ray and the students moved into a small Manhattan apartment beginning years of manipulation and abuse as Ray tightened his control over his young charges through blackmail extortion and ritualized humiliation. After a decade of secrecy Larry Ray was finally indicted on charges of extortion sex trafficking forced labor and money laundering.<br><br>Daniel Barban Levin was one of the original residents of Slonim Woods 9. Beginning the moment Daniel set foot on Sarah Lawrence&#146;s idyllic campus and spanning the two years he spent in the grip of a megalomaniac this brave lyrical and redemptive memoir reveals how a group of friends were led from college to a cult without the world even noticing.