"Child of Satan, Child of God" is Sadie Mae Glutz' uncluttered entry into the curious storehouse of Mansonian literature. Atkins rhapsodizes on the psychical, crude beauty of the desert, a sprawling terrorism of sirocco hippie troupes, biker convents (Mother Superior Danny DeCarlo is, however much to the offense of historical courtesy, cheaply manumitted from the narrative, a questionable gesture on Sadie's part, and at most a signal displacement of pure epistolary facticity), watercolor toughs, backroads musicians, wizened old ranch-hands, and ibid. Though the prose is severe and shorthand, the mystic invitation of Sexy Sadie's story is deeply companionable. "Child of Satan, Child of God" is a cross-grained examination of the Tate-LaBianca murders clean of the rigid demagoguery of Bugliosi's account, though suffering from frightfully bloated spells of nearsightedness and revisionism, and the sobbing sweeps of a spiritually taphephobic young woman.
Susan wanted to be included, to be recognized in her life. This is evident in her young life with the severed relationships with her parents...her family and high school life. This need leaves her vulnerable and out of control. She says anything that makes her look good and thus feels included and recognized...even if none of it is true. I don't think Susan killed anyone, ever. She seems to be around these things and takes credit for it...but, then dismisses it all together. When she is cornered, she tells the truth. She's like the Karaoke singer who sounds like the real artist, but really isn't. I have to say that I'm very impressed with her life after the fall. She is full of new found character...and I believe it is real...38 years real. I love Susan as a person who shows us she is merely human. My words never deflect the sadness of what was done those two nights. Susan was a beautiful person who paid her debt to this world and is in the world of the light..the world of Christ.
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