Designated Dancers: Why I Did Synanon

Why would a well-educated, middle class woman leave a teaching career and spend nineteen years in a California cult that imposed authority over decisions about material possessions, privacy, children, marriage, food, personal appearance, and ultimately her identity? Why didn't she and hundreds like her recognize that Chuck Dederich, Synanon's founder and guru, was rapidly descending the slippery slope from visionary to megalomaniac? Why did these people, who included successful lawyers and doctors, acquiesce to Chuck's whims, even when he demanded that all marriages in Synanon be instantly dissolved, the entire community embrace childlessness, any woman less than six months pregnant get an abortion and all men over the age of eighteen undergo a vasectomy? These are some of the difficult questions Alice Rost answers in Designated Dancers. Mostly a personal exploration, it describes the once vibrant organization that helped thousands of alcoholics and drug addicts kick their habits and live useful lives. The book depicts scenes in which she gives up one child and hands her second daughter over to the haphazard educational system of Synanon. She tells about "changing partners" where marriages are dissolved by decree of Chuck Dederich and men and women are told to "make love happen" after being linked up in a caricature of an auction block. Interwoven are scenes depicting the dark side of Synanon, including stories of attempted murder, beatings, harsh and punitive treatment of children, and institutional humiliation. Ultimately, Designated Dancers is a cautionary tale driven by Alice's struggle to redeem herself as a parent, wife and responsible member of society. Her journey oils the gears of the book.