[3] Guest describes how his mother was initially raised in strict Catholicism, but later turned to a tape of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh after going through a period of experimenting with sex and drugs.
Guest recounts how he regretted the absence of his mother's presence during this time, and describes controversial living conditions with other children at the various ashrams.
My Life in Orange received generally positive reviews, and was highlighted in a "Top 20 non-fiction" list by The Daily Telegraph,[4] and a "50 Best Books for the Beach" by The Independent.
[1] Guest describes multiple rules he disliked which he had to observe while living on the Osho commune, including a restricted diet and mandated worship.
[9] Guest, his mother and stepfather Martin moved to north London, and he began the process of experiencing adolescence in a society different from that inside the Rajneesh movement.
[5] A review in Reference & Research Book News commented that participants in the Rajneesh movement created "adults like Guest who are marked by the neglect suffered in a childhood among the completely self-absorbed".
[18] Kirkus Reviews described the book as "a rightly disturbing record of malignant child neglect by people who sought a heaven, but made a hell".
The book received a favorable review in New Statesman, and William Leith wrote: "This is an excellent study of what happens when a charismatic leader comes into contact with a group of rudderless, dispirited people.
"[7] Montagu Curzon of The Spectator wrote that "Guest makes an astonishingly mature debut (he is 27) and has the rare ability to describe childhood as a small child lives it; accepting, helpless, curious.
"[25] Publishers Weekly characterized My Life in Orange as "Honest and vivid, this is an absorbing book about survival and good intentions gone awry.
"[8] Gillian Engberg of Booklist called the book a "stirring memoir", and wrote: "Guest writes with a reporter's sense of economy and restraint, letting absurd, even shocking details speak for themselves.
"[22] Christopher Hart gave the book a positive review in The Sunday Times, and wrote: "Tim Guest’s extraordinary account of his childhood in the communes of Bhagwan, the notorious Indian guru, is a survivor’s tale, poignant, funny and wise.
"[12] A review in The Daily Telegraph commented that "the main failure of Guest's otherwise excellent book is the absence of character: even his mother comes across rather as a history than a personality.
"[4] "My Life in Orange, though slightly patchwork in its construction, is an absorbing piece of writing, all the more compelling for begging as many questions as it answers and for the author's refusal to ask for pity," wrote Geraldine Bedell in a review of the book in The Observer.
[9] Director of the Cheltenham Festival of Literature, Christopher Cook, characterized My Life in Orange as "the most extraordinary account of his [Tim Guest's] childhood and the bravest writing I've read in ages".
"[28] Shane Hegarty of The Irish Times characterized the book as "an intriguing and often humorous mix of straightforward 1980s nostalgia and cult delusion".