Rachael Hanel Presents Not the Camilla We Knew

Minnesota author Rachael Hanel will present a reading and discussion of her new book “Not the Camilla We Knew: One Woman’s Path from Small-Town America to the Symbionese Liberation Army” from the University of Minnesota Press.

Hanel tells the story of Camilla Hall, a pastor’s daughter from small-town Minnesota who eventually joined the ranks of the notorious Symbionese Liberation Army before dying in a shootout with Los Angeles Police in May of 1974. The SLA rose to international notoriety in February of that year with the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.

How could a “good girl” like Camilla become one of the most wanted domestic terrorists in the United States? Rachael Hanel tells her story, revealing both the deep humanity and the extraordinary circumstances of Camilla Hall’s life.

“Who are the shadows in the background of shocking events? Rachael Hanel’s compelling exploration of Camilla Hall, a likable Minnesota social worker turned Berkeley artist turned player in the most notorious political kidnapping of its time, grippingly illuminates the barely perceptible line between an unrelenting passion for justice and devastating choices from which one can’t return.” — Barrie Jean Borich, author of Apocalypse, Darling and Body Geographic

Rachael Hanel lives and writes just outside of Mankato, Minnesota. She is a former newspaper reporter and copy editor and teaches Creative Writing at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Her book “We’ll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger’s Daughter,” was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award. She is also the author of more than 20 nonfiction books for children.