This is a really interesting and well researched story. I am from Minnesota and always have been intrigued by true crime. There's a lot of fascinating stuff here but it also felt very long. I think I would have preferred to read it all as a long magazine article personally, but if you want a really deep dive into this woman and her life, this is the go-to resource.

I was intrigued by this book because I had read a lot about the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) mostly through the experience of Patty Hearst being kidnapped by them so was interested in learning more about why people voluntarily joined this organization. Camilla Hall grew up in a sort-of typical suburban family (though there was tragedy growing up which I won't reveal here). In the first part of the book, we learn about Camilla's childhood, college, early jobs, artistic pursuits, falling in love, etc. The author had access to interviews with people who knew her including her parents. She also was able to access letters Camilla wrote to her parents. When I got through two-thirds of the book, I thought it should end there. I kept reading but given the rest was more speculative and delved into the psychology of siblings and birth order and loss as well as comparing her story to Diana Oughton from the Weather Underground (we took a detour - though interesting- to learn about her life). So even though the title says "Not the Camilla We Knew" which is accurate, as a reader what we came away with is we still don't know who Camilla really is and what motivated her to join the SLA.

Thank you to Netgalley and the University of Minnesota Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have always been fascinated by this piece of history and I did feel like this cleared up some gaps. That said, she does admit it is largely speculative so who knows what Camilla was really thinking? I was hoping they had some more first-hand writings or recordings than they did. I also felt like the author didn't want to upset or judge Camilla's family or her choices and upbringing and that had to be a fine line to take.

Not The Camilla We Knew: One Woman’s Life from Small-town America to the Symbionese Liberation Army – Rachael Hanel PhD. – (2022)
Camilla Hall (1945-74) was one of six members of the Symbionese Liberation Army who perished in a fiery shoot-out with the LAPD on May 17, 1974, when the South-Central Los Angeles house (54th Compton) erupted in flames and burnt to the ground. This is the first significant biography to chronicle the life of Ms. Hall. Rachael Hanel is the associate professor of creative non-fiction/journalism at the University of Minnesota.

A great deal of general information about Camilla is based on archival research, media coverage of the SLA and the observations of others that “didn’t really know her that well." It was challenging to write a comprehensive portrait of Camilla without the input of living family members or close friends. Camilla was the only surviving daughter of Bob and Lorena Hall, three of her siblings died of genetic conditions related to heart and kidney disease. Bob, a Lutheran minister/scholar/theologian moved his family frequently-- from the mission fields in Africa to various stateside appointments at colleges and universities.
In college Camilla was an average student (2.5 GPA) and earned a Humanities degree from the University of Minnesota. Camilla worked briefly as a compassionate social worker before deciding to leave Minnesota for San Francisco. Camilla was energized by the sunny California climate, and supported herself selling her drawings at art fairs in the Bay area. As a prolific letter-writer she kept her parents informed about her own frequent moves, her work, etc. Camilla did not disclose her romantic friendship with Patricia Soltysic (the co-founder of the SLA). It wasn’t clear if the Hall’s even knew Camilla was gay, though they must have realized at some point that she wouldn’t likely marry or have children. Any meaningful narratives (or analysis) pertaining to her vital identity as a lesbian (also spiritual/religious beliefs) were noticeably lacking in the book. The absence of close/significant relationships (beyond superficial levels) in her life likely made her vulnerable to SLA influences.
Camilla’s involvement in the SLA’s kidnapping of Patty Heart placed her on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, she was “outed” in the national news media as a “radical/militant lesbian” many journalists compared the SLA to the Manson Family killings and acts of violence. Hempel traced the origins of the SLA to Vacaville Prison experiments by CIA officials (1967-72). While incarcerated, Donald De Freeze was convinced that he could become the next Martin Luther King Jr./Malcolm X. There is no official record of De Freeze’s participation in a program.

Hempel is not the only person to write a college dissertation about Camilla Hall, she met with the (retired) Lutheran psychologist/analyst Harvey Honig PhD. (2014). He authored: “A Psychobiographical Study of Camilla Hall” (1978). The public interest in the members and events surrounding the SLA continues to this day, and Camilla’s life story almost serves as a cautionary tale. Nice photos and Camilla’s artwork are featured in the book. **With thanks to the University of Minnesota Press via NetGalley for the DDC for the purpose of review.

An interesting read regarding the Symbionese Liberation Army and a person from a small town in Minnesota, and how she was involved. They were involved with the Patty Hearst kidnapping. You can tell it was well researched.

This was really an interesting book, although I am curious why it came out when it did. It should have come out after the events it discusses. The book was well written and revealing.