ABOUT

Katie McNey

Katie McNey holds a PhD in English with a focus in medieval literature from the University of Minnesota. She taught writing for over fifteen years and was a faculty member at the University of Southern California until 2021, where she co-founded and hosted the Writing Program’s podcast. She is one of the founding members of the Humanities Podcast Network.

Katie has written several books, including The Lafferty Girl with Rebecca Lafferty. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and is represented by Kurestin Armada at Root Literary. She is Ngāi Tahu Māori and lives in Los Angeles, California, with her daughter.

Books

The messianic beliefs of radical LDS fundamentalists Dan Lafferty and his brother Ron drove them to commit an unspeakable crime. This is a riveting, raw, and unfiltered look at the Lafferty family saga from a daughter who lived it, and of her journey to self-love and forgiveness.

 

Rebecca Lafferty grew up with a volatile, erratic, and ultimately notorious father, Dan Lafferty. She carried the scars of her traumatic upbringing through childhood and into adulthood. But most of all, Rebecca carried the horror of learning about the cold-blooded murder of her aunt and infant cousin in 1984, perpetrated by Dan and Ron according to a revelation Ron had received—as profiled in the Jon Krakauer book and FX/Hulu series Under the Banner of Heaven.

Now, in this riveting memoir, Rebecca tells her own story of survival and healing. Her correspondence with Dan—serving life in prison—insights from relatives, and most importantly, her own lived experience, give her an astoundingly deep point of view on the lead-up to the tragedy and its aftermath.

In this book, Rebecca hopes to encourage other survivors of abuse and trauma to chart their own path to healing and peace.

 

Available from all booksellers on September 30, 2025! Pre-order here.
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For general inquiries, please get in touch using the contact form. For rights inquiries please contact Root Literary.

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