Scout Camp: Sex, Death, and Secret Societies Inside the Boy Scouts of America

Journalist and true-crime podcaster Renner (founder and director of the Porchlight Project; Little, Crazy Children: A True Crime Tragedy of Lost Innocence) takes a grim yet cathartic and at times humorous journey through memory and trauma in this riveting true-crime memoir. In alternating timelines, Renner recalls his youthful experiences at Seven Ranges, the largest Boy Scout summer camp in Ohio, and his present-day challenges with PTSD and substance-use disorder. His book addresses the formation and history of the Boy Scouts of America. Renner asserts that the organization’s standards and traditions cultivate an environment of secrecy that permits and casts a blind eye to sexual abuse. Drawing on expert research, interviews with friends and families, and public case files, the book provides details of notable cases and personal stories of abuse within the group that lend credibility to Renner’s argument. The book’s conversational tone makes for compelling reading, and switching between past and present keeps the pacing tight. Renner treats the serious subject matter with sensitivity, but his wry humor prevents the book from becoming too grim.