Walking Away from Hate: Our Journey through Extremism

The story of an ordinary family’s descent into the dark world of white supremacy, and how love ultimately triumphed over hate.

As a troubled teen, Lauren Manning sought refuge online in the angry world of black metal music. When she met a recruiter who offered her the acceptance she craved, the doctrine of white supremacy supplanted the values of her middle-class upbringing, and Lauren traded suburbia for a life of violence and criminality on the streets of Toronto.

Told from the viewpoint of both mother and daughter, Walking Away from Hate chronicles Lauren’s descent into extremism, her life within the movement and her ultimate reconnection with the family she once denounced and the mother who refused to give up on her.

At a time when white supremacy and other forms of extremism are resurgent around the world, Walking Away from Hate provides a candid insider’s view from a uniquely female perspective.