Lives after Synanon

Rod Janzen in his book 'The Rise and Fall of Synanon' had a wide variety of interviews with former members of Synanon. Individuals like Glenn Frantz and Michael Vandeman, spoke about how the commune created a together feeling, or a compact community. The community helped one another, from food, auto care, family care, and about everything to go through daily lives. Francie Levy and Jan Tindall claimed how difficult it was to even get up in the mornings and not be able to grab a cup of coffee with friends. There are some as well that do not want their outside life to know of them being within Synanon. To be hurt financially or professionally would be devastating to them, so most don't even want to give their identity out for the fear of such actions. Spirituality, coincidentally, was put in place when the leaders of Synanon believed that their practices held a sort of path with religion, and wanted to receive a tax-exempt status. Most of the members saw spirituality through one another, and the game being played created a faith within one another to be wholly honest with each other. It created a connection between all the members, but it also grew so deep that it became a "us versus them" mentality within the commune. The outside community created a lot of resentment towards them in the 1970s with negative publicity of a few acts, ultimately splitting the members on what they believe was right. Many members left after the negative publicity happened, not wanting to be a part of a commune that attempted to injure people on the outside. The commune deeply affected many members when they decided to part ways and go back to normal society, as many realized the hardships of having mortgages and expenses, with less social life than they previously had. Gloria Geller stated that it was difficult to meet new people, as they are more closed off than individuals in the commune. Most went on to lead normal lives though, but with a sense of gratitude that they had went into the commune, because it created a sense of wholeness within them.


 Janzen, Rod A. The Rise and Fall of Synanon, A California Utopia, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001