The Book of Mormon Girl: A Memoir of an American Faith by Joanna Brooks

Feb 20, 2013 Petra X rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Petra X by: Jeanette

Shelves: 2013-reviews, biography-true-story

I was in two minds whether to write a review of this book or just to leave the notes that engendered such a discussion in the comments. They are encased in spoilers at the end now. The comments are quite good as one Mormon defended the Church's policy of considering supporters of equality for women as an excommunicable sin by discussing its irrelevance in her own life.

If this review looks like it goes on a bit too much (it does, more than a bit too, I know, mea culpa), then head on down to the...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Katie Johnson rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The first half was describing what it was like for her growing up as a Mormon. I guess I was expecting it to be a little bit more interesting. And while there were a lot of "that's so true" or "oh yeah, I did that", I don't know I just didn't find that reading about it was that enjoyable. Just "eh". Although the chapter about the Marie Osmond book was good. A great telling if what it's like when you're 12 years old. Also, I liked how she pointed out ho...more I wanted to like this book more than I did. The first half was describing what it was like for her growing up as a Mormon. I guess I was expecting it to be a little bit more interesting. And while there were a lot of "that's so true" or "oh yeah, I did that", I don't know I just didn't find that reading about it was that enjoyable. Just "eh". Although the chapter about the Marie Osmond book was good. A great telling if what it's like when you're 12 years old. Also, I liked how she pointed out how the young girls image of the perfect Mormon woman (Marie Osmond) is really just an illusion. That crushing pressure to be the PERFECT Mormon and the PERFECT woman is a very dangerous thing that is VERY prevalent in the church, especially in Utah.

The second half of the book kind of took a turn I didn't expect. Brooks ends up leaving the church after the church declared feminists, intellectuals, and gays & lesbians to be its enemies. It was very hard for Brooks being a feminist to see her mentor's get fired from BYU for speaking out against it and being feminists. I REALLY admire her courage to stand up for what she knows to be right, even though it meant leaving her beloved church. She still loves the church and it's traditions and wants to be a part of it. I liked how she kept talking about the church of her grandparents and the church of today and how she will hold onto and keep her faith in the church of her grandparents.
I love that she is wise enough to take all the good she sees in it and leave what she sees as the bad. She doesn't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. So many people find one fault or one mistake and they have to completely run away from it and fight tooth and nail against it. Brooks doesn't do that. She just does what she has been taught all her life (even taught by the church) and that is standing up for what she believes to be right.

I think why I really just didn't love this book was her writing style. It just tried too hard to be poetic and romantic. Quite a few times I hard a hard time following the actual story or message because I just got lost in the language and didn't get her metaphors and simile's.(less)

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Oct 20, 2012 Deborah Markus rated it 2 of 5 stars

Are all autobiographies and memoirs now required to be vague? First "Unorthodox," and now this. Both books were written by intelligent women who had something to say and then spent half the book refusing to say it.

Look: If I'm reading your story, it's because I want to hear your story. So *tell* it, already.

If you're a Mormon and a feminist, what does that mean to you? What does feminism mean in the context of Mormonism? You mention that when you were growing up in the Mormon church, twelve-year...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Jeanette rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoir, america, nonfiction, philosophy-theology

The tampon in the cup of root beer was the funniest damn thing in the whole book.

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Jan 02, 2013 goddess rated it 1 of 5 stars

I happened to be at the local library and picked this up out of curiosity. Disclaimer: I’m not a feminist in the worldly sense. I’m a feminist in my own right.....one who believes in the value and beauty of women; one who believes women should be and do all kinds of wonderful things; one who believes we should celebrate our differences with men rather than curse God and seek retribution. I'm not ignorant of The Church's flaws; but I celebrate its greatness. So I knew going into this book I’d bet...more I happened to be at the local library and picked this up out of curiosity. Disclaimer: I’m not a feminist in the worldly sense. I’m a feminist in my own right.....one who believes in the value and beauty of women; one who believes women should be and do all kinds of wonderful things; one who believes we should celebrate our differences with men rather than curse God and seek retribution. I'm not ignorant of The Church's flaws; but I celebrate its greatness. So I knew going into this book I’d better strap myself in and hold on tight. It would be a bumpy ride. Here we go.

I found this book confusing, irreverent, silly, inconsequential, sad. Being four years Joanna’s junior, my Southern (and later Northern) California upbringing in a very devout Mormon family was vastly different. Joanna lumps all Mormons into what the stereotypical LDS family ought to have looked like. Honey, my family was hardly like it nor did I know all that many who were. We lived the gospel, but we were a PriceClub shopping, Wonder Bread buying, Soda drinking (yes, even those “evil” caffeinated ones!), Cadillac driving family. Homemade bread was a treat; we never had a van; my mother never canned food....nor did she crochet; even though I come from Pioneer heritage we never dressed up in bonnets and dresses; I didn’t know what funeral potatoes were until I left for college. Sure, we all like to joke about the Jello salads, casseroles, Road Show productions, stake dances, and crackpot elderly members. But truth be told, this is not the norm in the Mormon religion. We are so much more than this.

Had my first exposure to Mormonism been this book, I’d think they were a crazy lot. A cult even. All the families cookie-cutter copy cats who lived in bomb shelters and completely shunned the outside world. Dude; this couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout the book I sensed a tone of mockery, disdain, resentment, self-righteousness. Shame? Was she ridiculing the religion she claims to “love”? Bottom line: Ms Brooks flirts with the line of apostasy.

She has quite a vivid memory of her Primary days. Are these simply embellishments? Or did her parents, teachers, ward truly create a state of fear/paranoia among the Saints? I lived in a neighboring stake; I don’t know what the hell she’s talking about. We certainly were not running around like Chicken Littles ready to grab our 72-hr kits and hunker down at any given moment. Yes, these extremists exist; but they are few and far between. There’s weirdos in every religion.

While plenty of the material in this memoir was simply bizarre (the big tampon? Marie Osmond?) some of it got under my skin. Let’s begin with her take on blacks and the priesthood. I quote: “How was I to know that Mormons had played our own special if minor role in that cruelty.” Wowsa. Maybe Joanna missed the day in Sunday School where modern revelation is a major cornerstone in the LDS Church....or the concept that there are just some things we will not know all the answers to in this life. And the Equal Rights Amendment? I guess an official statement by the First Presidency is not enough. Personally, it makes sense why The Church came out against said amendment.

Joanna shows an obvious disdain for the likes of Cleon Skousen, who by the way was asked by the First Presidency to publish such works as The Making of America. Perhaps since she so readily dismisses proclamations and church statements, this has no relevance for her.

Did she really just compare menstruation and Priesthood?

The Church has cleaned out dissenters and sacrileges since its inception (and I’m not just talking about the last 180 years). Those who preach false doctrine and blasphemy are routinely purged. How can we have multiple doctrines spewing forth? We are not a church of confusion. The excommunication of the September Six was a sad but necessary measure. And she shouldn’t feel so put out or picked on. Feminists aren’t the only targets. Just ask Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery. Or John Singer or Annalee Skarin. Or Bob Longsberry for that matter. And spare me the garbage of “open-mindedness”. The gospel is the gospel, and God is the same today as he was yesterday as he will be tomorrow. A person’s whim or personal opinions that contradict the doctrine of Jesus Christ have no place in His gospel.

The biggest nail grinder? Proposition 8 in California. The Church has every right and obligation to voice opinions on moral/social issues. Gay marriage goes against everything The Church stands for. And contrary to popular belief, marriage is an institution....not a right. The high and mighty Ms Brooks put herself above the fray turning down her nose at us petty (and ignorant) disciples who so blindly "followed" Church leadership on this matter. Newsflash: The majority of us don’t need to be told how to vote on this issue because it is inherently obvious. We can love the gays and accept them; but we don’t rewrite doctrine. And we want to protect the sanctity of marriage. Though Ms Brooks claims it an absolute impossibility for governments to demand churches perform rituals against its own policy or lose their status, she needs to do her research–it’s happening in other countries. Yes, it can happen here. We also believe that allowing such marriages to take place will harm society. And isn’t she just as condescending to label, condemn, judge, and categorize members of The Church who happen to not share her opinion? And how is stealing/hiding LDS canvassing sheets, evidence of hours upon hours of work done by the Yes on 8 campaign, more noble exactly? Her suggestion of what she deems a better use of Prop 8 funds is laughable. Huh; all the money poured into the opposition could have gone to the same cause.....

Joanna Brooks is misguided, lost, conflicted. I have some pity for her. But that pity stops when she takes the gospel I love and cherish, rehashes it into her own bitter diatribe, and spews it all over the published world. I shake my head knowing that unsuspecting and curious nonmembers are getting info from this woman who is only partly committed to the LDS Church. It seems to me that she cares more about what man thinks rather than what God thinks. We can’t pick and choose which doctrines we wish to follow. When she makes statements like, “Do we blame the Orthodox....always doing as they are told, but so alone with their own forms of failure and sorrow,” I take some umbrage. No sweetheart, I don’t do as I’m told. I “obey” and adhere to counsel because I CHOOSE to. I don’t feel alone.

I half expected a heartfelt testimony somewhere in these 200 pages. I saw none. Joanna loves the traditions, but not the truth. She loves the stories, but not the doctrine. The gospel is more than just traditions and great stories. Too bad she doesn’t seem to see what good members of the Church–certainly not perfect–strive to do everyday: live good and honest lives. Keep ourselves unspotted from the world. Build loving and devoted families. Pick ourselves up when we stumble, and overcome the many challenges and adversities (and failures) we all will face.

When one looks for the blemishes, that’s all that will be seen. Ms Brooks seems to see a face full of acne and pockmarks. (less)

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Aug 20, 2012 Brent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, lds, religion

I'm a lifelong Mormon, straight, male, and not a feminist. Despite all that, I instantly liked Joanna Brooks after seeing her on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart and reading the introduction to The Book of Mormon Girl Stories from an American Faith. Her opening chapter, explaining much of what it means to grow up as a Latter-day Saint, resonated with me. What a lovely piece of prose.

There's a lot to like in this book: the prose, the chapter on Marie Osmond (so, so funny), all the seemingly odd...more I'm a lifelong Mormon, straight, male, and not a feminist. Despite all that, I instantly liked Joanna Brooks after seeing her on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart and reading the introduction to The Book of Mormon Girl Stories from an American Faith. Her opening chapter, explaining much of what it means to grow up as a Latter-day Saint, resonated with me. What a lovely piece of prose.

There's a lot to like in this book: the prose, the chapter on Marie Osmond (so, so funny), all the seemingly odd things we do (or did) as Mormons (fixation with jello, dance festivals, food storage) the challenge to be more loving and tolerant of those who don't fit the typical Latter-day Saint mold, and a lot more.

Now, some kind criticism: I wish she would have focused a little more on her time at BYU...what were some other pivotal experiences that helped strengthen her feminism? Was it just meeting with her professors? Just wearing the peace sign pin? I would have really enjoyed reading more about her classes in the basements of BYU and what she learned about early Mormon women that stoked the feminist flame. Maybe more readers would align with her way of thinking if they had a little more context.

(This is just a nit-picky little thing...but) Do you think didn't have enough references to caffeine in the opening chapters? Holy moly. Relax, Joanna, relax.

I got the feeling that Joanna remains a Mormon more so out of devotion to her heritage than to her Savior. But maybe explaining what she believes about Jesus Christ wasn't really within the scope of her book, so I can forgive her for not including her testimony. (Although putting that in the book would have been nice, too.) I understand she's telling a story, and sometimes it's just too hard to wedge some parts of our life into that narrative.

I also got the feeling Joanna considers the LDS Church to be more akin to a social club instead of what most Latter-day Saints consider it to be: the restored Church of Jesus Christ. I agree with her when she says that Mormons must be more open, more loving, more tolerant, but I wish she understood that each one of us must conform to the doctrines and norms of the organization (in this case, the Church) we wish to belong to if we hope to fully participate within that organization. Agitating for change when none is forthcoming shows a fundamental lack of belief that the Church is led by inspired individuals. This is unfortunate. But perhaps Joanna is, for now, content to "agree to disagree" with Church policy, and perhaps she accepts the natural results from such a stance.

Overall, I liked this book. No matter who you are, you'll enjoy Joanna's writing, humor, humanity, and sincerity, even if you don't see eye to eye with her on everything.(less)

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Oct 02, 2012 Liss rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: other-non-fiction

This book is not for me. However, the reason I gave it only two stars is the writing.

The writing of this book is juvenile and difficult to follow. It's like it was written by a college student for a memoir writing class. I assume that the intended audience is people who don't know Mormons (as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often called). Certainly the intended audience cannot be those who grew up Mormon, because if it was then it is way to dumbed down for them.

Wh...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Kip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Wendy

I know that some of my Mormon friends would not like this memoir because it is unorthodox, because it sheds a light on our church and our culture that is sometimes critical (though there is great love as well), and because it is not (they would say) representative of typical Mormon experience (whatever that is). They would dispute many of the book's premises and conclusions. Nevertheless, I found this memoir to be moving and insightful. I don't always see things the same way Brooks does, but I a...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-think-i-should-read, work-review-related-reading

This book is an interesting window into a famous but still very unknown religion: Mormonism. Brooks, a national voice on Mormon life and politics who is an award-winning scholar of religion and American culture, talks with a refreshing openness about what it was like to grow up Mormon. Her religion and the community that came with it was a source of great joy to her, then and now. But she hit a major stumbling block when she became a young woman and embraced many feminist beliefs, which she did...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Jan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Joanna Brooks writes candidly about growing up Mormon in California in the 80s. Her explanations of the culture, teachings, and what it feels like to be LDS are spot on. We know we are seen as peculiar by many, but feel warm and safe in our close knit Mormon wards. As she matures at BYU she bumps into Mormon feminism and starts to question the way women and intellectuals are viewed by the church hierarchy. Later on, married to a Jewish man, and the mother of two young girls, she comes face to f...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Cookie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, non-fiction

I follow Joanna Brooks on Twitter, and really enjoy her posts. When I heard that she had written a book, I had to read it. While I am not Mormon, her stories resonated with me. I, too, grew up in an environment where religion and culture were joined at the hip, and I found her stories "familiar" and heartwarming (or heartbreaking, depending on the story). While I may not have had jello salad, funeral potatoes, or object lessons - what I did have seems an awful lot like them.

What I appreciated mo...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, theology-spirituality

A fascinating look into what it was like growing up in a conservative, fundamentalist Mormon community in the 1980's. The memoir then covers the author's struggles with her church as she discovers and embraces feminism and liberal politics while trying to reconcile it with her faith. I really enjoyed this, though I wish there were more details about her college years (the years where she discovered her new ideals). What specifically made her embrace feminism, especially at BYU? Curious.

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Nov 03, 2012 Heather C. rated it 2 of 5 stars

I know that a lot of people have appreciated Brooks' candid viewpoint on her religion, but this book wasn't for me. I find it challenging to live in a world that generally doesn't share my faith, viewpoints, or sympathies already, and I don't enjoy reading anything that makes me feel like I'm taking friendly fire.

It's one thing to discuss the details (even the ugly ones) of one's religion and/or faith with a friend in person--that, I find to be important, but I didn't find reading her experienc...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Christy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading this, particularly the chapters from teenagehood and beyond, was the most spiritual experience I've had in a long time. I recommend it to everyone, particularly women, and more particularly, women who don't feel like they fit the mold. I thought it would be a battle cry for Mormon feminists, but it's more like a song - a beautiful, bittersweet, lyrical piece that connects the peculiar, powerful past of Mormonism with the promise of a brighter and more inclusive future.

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Feb 13, 2013 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books-read, from-a-blog

I really wanted to give this more stars. Please bear with me while I try to explain how much I liked this book and why I didn't.

The content of this book really touched me. She experienced a very different Mormon childhood than I did. I grew up in "the mission field" but had quite a few friends at my school who were also LDS so I never felt too alone or different. My parents are converts who never attended the Temple. So I don't have the religious history of my ancestors to compare to my current...more I really wanted to give this more stars. Please bear with me while I try to explain how much I liked this book and why I didn't.

The content of this book really touched me. She experienced a very different Mormon childhood than I did. I grew up in "the mission field" but had quite a few friends at my school who were also LDS so I never felt too alone or different. My parents are converts who never attended the Temple. So I don't have the religious history of my ancestors to compare to my current experiences. I didn't attend BYU. I didn't even apply. Now, I can't exactly recall why - I think it was a two-fold reason: too far from my grandparents and I didn't think the Y was a serious university for women. I didn't want people to think I was going there to get my MRS degree. (Although I thought every boy I met at SLU was my future husband, even the novice Jesuit priests.) And finally, my reasons for being a lapsed Mormon are muddled - a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I didn't stop attending church for specific moral reasons.

I love Joanna Brooks. I enjoy her writing SO much. I really feel a kinship with her thoughts about the Church. I tell all of my LDS friends if they aren't reading her work to begin. It makes you think which I treasure. I love her stories about growing up LDS and her feelings about her conflict with the Church.

I am not judging Ms Brooks' writing or experiences or her interpretations or her feelings. I can identify with the dichotomy of loving the Church & its teachings and not understanding (dare I say hate) some of its actions. Heavenly Father is a God of LOVE. He loves us all despite, or perhaps because, our sins & shortcomings. I cannot reconcile that HF is so petty as to not accept us if we break the Word of Wisdom or love the same sex. I could go on & on about all the great points Ms Brooks expands upon in her book but I would be typing forever.

What I didn't like about the book: Ms. Brooks deserved a better editor. I hated how this book was put together. There should have been a nice introduction about the layout of the book. A bit of a big picture - this is what I'm trying to share/explain to you. The reader is thrown into the semi-deep end of the Mormon culture pool with nary a floatie or a lifeguard in sight to help guide the reader. I would not "get" this book at all if I didn't have an LDS background.

This seemed to be more of a short story collection than a memoir. The stories are nice but how do they fit together as a whole? I would have suggested Ms Brooks provide an introduction or at the very least intersperse the back stories with the more recent ones. I just felt like I was being handed a stack of essays she wrote over 35 years and told to read it without any explanation. It was a little disappointing.
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Mar 13, 2012 Jon added it · review of another edition

Joanna Brooks grew up in an orthodox Mormon home in Southern California. When she left that home to attend BYU she found kinship with several professors who held an unorthodox, ecumenical view of the faith. Sadly, it was a time (early 90s) when the tensions between church leadership and intellectual unorthodoxy were particularly high, and several BYU professors (some of whom mentored Brooks) were excommunicated. These tensions led Brooks to become distant from Mormonism.

Brooks says that a talk b...more Joanna Brooks grew up in an orthodox Mormon home in Southern California. When she left that home to attend BYU she found kinship with several professors who held an unorthodox, ecumenical view of the faith. Sadly, it was a time (early 90s) when the tensions between church leadership and intellectual unorthodoxy were particularly high, and several BYU professors (some of whom mentored Brooks) were excommunicated. These tensions led Brooks to become distant from Mormonism.

Brooks says that a talk by Boyd K. Packer in 1993 was part of why she embraced unorthodox Mormon views. In the talk Elder Packer listed what he saw as three dangers to the church: the gay and lesbian movement, the feminist movement, and challenges from "so-called" scholars and intellectuals. For Brooks, this controversial talk and the excommunications of her professors made her feel as though the church viewed her as an enemy. She was a feminist, an intellectual, and she was sympathetic to the gay and lesbian movement. Three strikes.

Years later, after she married a Jewish man and had two daughters, Brooks decided that she, like her female pioneer ancestors, could do hard things. So she faced her orthodox religion squarely. She returned to activity in the church, all the while holding true to her unorthodox and ecumenical beliefs, which, for the most part, aren't (or shouldn't be) very unorthodox. She sums up her views this way:

All are alike unto God: male and female, black and white, gay and straight.
God is a Mother and a Father.
Mormon women matter.

That message is important, and Brooks serves the church by emphasizing that Mormons believe those things. In addition, Brooks's approach is warm rather than bitter, and that alone makes her efforts admirable.

I had one hangup with the book, however. Brooks never adequately wrestled with the idea that Boyd K. Packer wasn't necessarily at crossroads with her when he spoke of three dangers (importantly not the three dangers) to the church. I would guess (don't know, though—Boyd K. Packer is by all accounts the most orthodox man in church hierarchy) that if Joanna Brooks sat down with Elder Packer she would find that he doesn't take issue with how she summarizes her unorthodox view. That is, I would guess that he also believes that all alike unto God, that God is a Mother and a Father, and that Mormon women matter. To say otherwise would be to say that Body K. Packer is an unorthodox Mormon, because those three assertions are foundational to the faith.

I assume that if Brooks parsed semantics, she would probably agree that there is some danger in certain strains of the gay-lesbian, feminist, and scholarly movements. Brooks probably agrees that highly sexualized gay parades aren't terribly helpful for society. She probably agrees that the anti-children and anti-man shades of a virulent version of feminism aren't beneficial. And she probably agrees that scholars and intellectuals who get too puffed up in their own knowledge and wisdom pose a danger to spiritual life.

That isn't to say that Joanna Brooks's position is the same as Boyd K. Packer's position. They still disagree on hundreds of points, and that's fine—I favor the ecumenical vision of Mormonism that Brooks illustrates at the end of her memoir, one that fits all of humanity. My point is that Brooks ascribes a different connotation to feminism than Boyd K. Packer did in his 1993 talk. Understanding that difference makes a big (all the?) difference. Brooks was never an enemy to the church, and the church was wrong for rankling against feminist BYU professors in the 90s. The mess was a result mostly of horrible misunderstandings of what people mean when they talk about feminism.

In sum, this memoir would have been even more powerful if Brooks had fully wrestled through the semantics of some of the words she uses: feminist, intellectual, enemy, etc. Had she done that, we would have seen a Brooks who didn't feel quite so out of place in the faith.

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Nov 17, 2012 Ingrid Lola added it · review of another edition

Shelves: feels-important, great, makes-my-heart-warm

beautiful, honest, inspiring. joanna does a great job embracing both her love of her mormon identity as well as honestly identifying her most difficult struggles with it. this is the best book i've read written by a mormon woman about mormon women.

great reading more both mormons and non-mormons.

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Feb 14, 2012 Peter rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a disappointing memoir. The author leads the reader into her atypical "Mormon" experience. However she soon exiles herself because she cannot come to terms with core tenants of church doctrine (ie. gay marriage is not ordained of God; she also prays to a Heavenly Mother). She eventually falls into inactivity after her mentor is excommunicated and yet blames the LDS Church for not being flexible enough to include people with her unorthodox beliefs. She talks more about her desire for her...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have some mixed feelings about this book, but my overall takeaway is that it represents the genuine and heartfelt reflections of someone who has struggled with her faith but in the end has chosen to remain active in the LDS church despite her perception of the negatives. As she said in the book, sometimes we have to put the things we don't understand on a shelf for God to answer later.

I intuitively understand a lot of the subtext of the book since I am an active Mormon the same age as Brooks...more I have some mixed feelings about this book, but my overall takeaway is that it represents the genuine and heartfelt reflections of someone who has struggled with her faith but in the end has chosen to remain active in the LDS church despite her perception of the negatives. As she said in the book, sometimes we have to put the things we don't understand on a shelf for God to answer later.

I intuitively understand a lot of the subtext of the book since I am an active Mormon the same age as Brooks and was raised from infancy in the LDS Church. Yes, my older sisters even taught me the names and charming attributes of the hunky Osmond boys. (Although I thought the Marie Osmond chapter was too long and a little too "huh?".) My dad was a bishop. Many of the quirks and cultural "givens" like funeral potatoes and EFY in the magical land of Provo are engraved in my inner psyche as well. I also attended college at another Utah university while Brooks was at BYU. But somehow I totally missed the drama that era held for her. My journey of faith was very different.

I appreciate Brooks' candor, and I think her message of "let's set aside our differences; we're all welcome at the table" is a welcome and necessary one. Having said that, I maintain that I respectfully disagree with many of her opinions. My criticism is with the book and not with her personally.

The first thing that puzzles me is who her intended audience is. Outsiders? Insiders? Her daughters, her sisters, her gay friends, herself? Because as a writer your tone is dictated by the audience, and it just felt like the tone was uneven. It's as if the chapters were like standalone essays--maybe the audience kept changing for the different chapters.

Second, I think she too broadly and unfairly paints all Mormons with the same brush, and it kind of makes us out to be wackos. There is plenty of wackiness in our church, culture, and people, but it's like that in any religion...Memoir is tough. It takes a lot of courage to go into those old, dark corners and to try to present your personal reality--one that will certainly conflict with perceptions and memories of loved ones--in a fair way. I've always wanted to try it but don't dare.

Third, the early chapters teeter between charming, funny, odd, and snarky. There's a subtle tone of mockery that rubs me wrong. Brooks captures some of the charm of her childhood like A Girl Named Zippy but doesn't have the warmth and sweetness that comes through in Haven Kimmel's writing. She makes fun of the Mormons, the born-agains, her sweet camp leaders, the prospective missionary she promised to wait for, her parents. It may be hard, but it IS possible to write a story about true people without throwing them under the bus. It seems kind of dangerous to be friends with Joanna Brooks. I don't know that I'd want to show up in her writing.

Fourth, the book veers dramatically in tone and subject halfway through. It felt abrupt and uncomfortable to go from lighthearted girlhood to heavy issues of wrestling with faith. I understand that we needed to see her history to get the heavy chapters. But it was just too big of a shift for me. The girlhood section seems very full, and the "coming into herself" section is strangely brief. Like others, I would like to have seen more fleshing out of her college years and how that part of her life shaped her into who she is. Maybe that is too painfully recent to share. I don't know.

Lastly, my emotional and personal reaction is just that I feel kind of sad for Brooks, who seems to be so caught up in practicing the cultural trappings of Mormonism that she has lost sight of the one thing that really matters in the gospel of Jesus Christ: the undeniable atonement of our Savior. Anything, even other good things, that take us down side paths away from that reality--even our strongly held opinions, and anything that keeps us from being able to go through that "eye of the needle" (also see that gem of a book The Great Divorce) will bring unhappiness in the long run. God allows us to follow our meandering paths, wherever we choose to go. But He waits with infinite patience, acceptance, and love for each of us, just wanting us to look up! and see and return to Him, that we can partake of His peace and joy.

On a personal level, I admire Joanna Brooks for the courage it must have taken to go through this introspective journey, and I honestly hope that she finds the joy she is looking for.(less)

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Feb 03, 2013 Jenifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 I heard Joanna Brooks interviewed specifically about this book. I knew what I was getting and I knew her experiences and her questions would echo mine in some ways and definitely not in others. It would be futile to analyze or compare and contrast my opinions on Mormonism or how life experiences are similar or different, it's a memoir, so I'll give Joanna validity for her own feelings and perceptions.

I hope never to be so pious as to ignore the validity of another person's path to faith or...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Aneesa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: faith-religion-spirituality

I have always felt a certain connection to Mormons, a certain need to stand up for them when they are ridiculed, probably because I too belong to a "new" religious movement, and I've often thought of how ridiculous all religions must have looked to those who were around to see them first established, and how misunderstood any private group may find themselves. Of course, it's hard to reconcile that with the reminder of all the terrible things Mormons have done in their religion and in the name o...more I have always felt a certain connection to Mormons, a certain need to stand up for them when they are ridiculed, probably because I too belong to a "new" religious movement, and I've often thought of how ridiculous all religions must have looked to those who were around to see them first established, and how misunderstood any private group may find themselves. Of course, it's hard to reconcile that with the reminder of all the terrible things Mormons have done in their religion and in the name of it.

This book offers me a way to do that. It's about a Mormon feminist and activist, her experience as a child feeling special because of her relatively different beliefs (I could relate to this), her realization that the church did not accept her as she was (as a feminist, a questioner of authority, and a supporter of gay rights), and how hard it is for her to deal with that and reconcile it for herself (something I can deeply empathize with). Her goal in this book and other outlets is to show the human side--the human failings--of her religion, and to tell ALL its stories, not just the ones it officially stands by in this moment of history. I learned that much of the misogyny and racism of the Mormon Church was not originally a part of its doctrine (at the time it was founded, it was relatively liberal), but has been appended over the years by bigoted and misunderstanding followers, which gives the author and me hope that it can be rectified in the long run. I am fearful of the generation when my own tradition is contorted to the whims of society, or, likewise, does not bend to allow a greater application of its core beliefs as circumstances changes. I also learned about the Mormon feminist movement in the 1990s, which led to the excommunication of several objectors who have gone on to continue to consider themselves Mormons, to write and distribute feminist Mormon newsletters, and work for change in the church. This gave me hope.

If you want to be inspired to do more to support causes you believe in, read the chapter on Prop. 8. Now.(less)

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Feb 19, 2013 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, meridian, religion

I loved this book.

But I'm going to wait to write a full review until after I've had a chance to read the new edition (picked up by Simon & Schuster after Joanna self-published this first edition) which has some additional material. So check back later. :)

Here it is...

Sr. Brooks’s controversial memoir set the bloggernacle abuzz in 2012, generating many passionate and widely disparate opinions. Some readers and reviewers loved The Book of Mormon Girl and found it inspiring; others condemned h...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Miste rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Some of Brooks' experiences were very much like my own but some again were very not like my own. All of us regardless of what our faith is have to come to terms with the "human aspect" of our religion. Brooks has an entertaining style of writing which I enjoyed. I hope she is able to find her place in the Mormon culture/religion she still loves as I think there should be a place for everyone. I hope we as a Mormon people can move to where we recognize that Christ intended for everyone to be seat...more

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May 02, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mormon, memoirs, feminism

This was an enjoyable read, especially for one who was raised in the same tradition and has come to similar conclusions and places in my adult life. My favorite quote from the book,

"I am not the same kind of Mormon girl I was when I was seven, eight or eighteen years old. I am not an orthodox Mormon woman like my mother. I am an unorthodox Mormon woman with a fierce and hungry faith... I am not an enemy, and I will not be disappeared from the faith of my ancestors, I am the descendant of Mormon...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Tara Lofley rated it 1 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the first half of the book. It had some very witty, clever stories woven through the pages. But I'm not sure I have the words to do the second half justice. The most prominent word on the tip of my tongue is "wrong".

I finished this book with that cute little primary song stuck in my head called, "The Wise Man and The Foolish Man". The rains came down and the floods came up and the house on the rock stood still. Conversely the house on the sand washed away.

This is a story that I think...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Abby rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I heard this woman interviewed on the radio one day, and wanted to read her book. I was hoping to get a lot more out of it. It pretty much tanked for me.

I was expecting a lifelong active LDS woman who also is a feminist, sharing her history and views on the church and her world. She mentioned in the radio interview that there are many unflattering events in the history of the church that have been covered up or glossed over, and how she wants us to have an honest discussion about how they happen...more I heard this woman interviewed on the radio one day, and wanted to read her book. I was hoping to get a lot more out of it. It pretty much tanked for me.

I was expecting a lifelong active LDS woman who also is a feminist, sharing her history and views on the church and her world. She mentioned in the radio interview that there are many unflattering events in the history of the church that have been covered up or glossed over, and how she wants us to have an honest discussion about how they happened and why, and how to keep them from happening again. Don't just pretend they never happened, because they did and we can learn from them, right?

Instead, the first part talked about her childhood/teen years as a Mormon girl. It was very mildly amusing, but that was all. She sounded very similar to me as a 12 year old. Then the book took a strange turn, and forgive me author lady, but you totally lost me. Suddenly there was a sentence about a neighbor man looking down at her and someone grabbing her innapropriately after school (or something), and I thought it was about to turn from a carefree childhood memoir to a dark and sinister story of covered up abuse. Then she went on and never mentioned it again. I was so confused.

In the second half of the book, I got a feel for who she has been as an adult. She was almost completely inactive for a decade, but now has two young daughters and has slowly been bringing Mormon history into their lives, especially that of her female pioneer ancestors. She is married to a practicing Jewish man, and they don't even celebrate Christmas at all in their home. She's never been through the LDS temple (kind of a must if you want to paint yourself as a voice of the Mormons), and yet she writes articles and blogs all over the internet from the viewpoint of a Mormon woman. She's like a half Mormon. And she never got into the dark, discarded histories of the church that I was expecting. The stuff she did write about was too vague for me, only somewhat familiar with the events she was talking about (like Mormon feminists being excommunicated in the 90's.)

I was disappointed. Bleh. The end.(less)

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Apr 09, 2013 Mehrsa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I didn't love about the book, Ms. Brooks more than makes up for in real life. She is a great person and she knocks it out of the park when she's on TV. Writing this book also took a lot of courage and for that I give her 5 stars.

The book fell short of my expectations because I do not think I was the intended audience. I think she is speaking to people who do not know about the Mormon church and who might see it as some sort of crazy cult. And she doesn't do much to dispel that belief. She...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: spiritual, sociology, biography-autobiography

*Note: there isn't too much to spoil, but the next paragraph spills the beans on why the author had a crisis of faith. I don't think it will ruin your reading of the book, but it's hard to review without explaining my critique.

I wish I had enjoyed this book more than I did. Joanna Brooks writes her story earnestly, and the buildup to "what happened" is so great that I was poised for a Great Reveal of some tremendous wrongdoing she suffered through the LDS church organization. To learn that all i...more *Note: there isn't too much to spoil, but the next paragraph spills the beans on why the author had a crisis of faith. I don't think it will ruin your reading of the book, but it's hard to review without explaining my critique.

I wish I had enjoyed this book more than I did. Joanna Brooks writes her story earnestly, and the buildup to "what happened" is so great that I was poised for a Great Reveal of some tremendous wrongdoing she suffered through the LDS church organization. To learn that all it boiled down to was that she had an awakening that they were not supportive of women's or LGBT rights was something of a letdown; surely she realized this somewhere during the thousands of hours she spent in the church growing up? Her anguish, tears, and despair seem almost odd, given that she clearly stated having learned these points of view from church elders as a young teenager.

I read this book to get a greater understanding of a religious tradition that I somewhat married into, as a large portion of my husband's family are LDS, although he was not raised in that tradition. Having learned quite a lot already, this book did not have any new information for me regarding the history or belief system of the church. Perhaps someone without much knowledge of LDS might learn something of the traditions and rituals.

Many of the chapters read like blog entries, which I suspect they may be-- reworked blog entries, like so many contemporary publications. This lends a very choppy feel to the narrative. Another blog-to-book writer confessed that it was HARD to provide enough words to meet her editor's requirements, and I suspect we have a similar situation here, because it could have been much shorter without the fluff. We also go from an excruciating point-by-point recap of a Marie Osmond beauty book to existential angst in just a few chapters, which makes for difficulty in pinpointing the author's tone.

Had I been one of her blog readers, I might have appreciated more her semi-condensation of her life and faith journey in this book. As someone new to her sphere, though, it feels rushed, wordy, and confused. If you're interested in contemporary Mormon autobiographies, it's worth reading, but there are better-paced works out there if you want to understand the LDS church today.(less)

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Feb 28, 2013 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I saw this author a few times when I was at BYU and liked her writing so was interested in this book. The writing is strong, the narrative very engaging. She first paints a picture of growing up in a strong LDS household in Southern California. I could relate to many of the experiences she had growing up. Then she tells of her struggle to reconcile her strong beliefs in the rightness of feminism and gay rights and her strong beliefs in the church. She paints the church as hard right and unyieldi...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I only read this because my sister sent it to me, telling me I should read it. It started out mocking the author's LDS upbringing, which was was what I expected from the book. But about halfway through I started feeling sympathy for the author. It is a heart-rending account of her differences with hierarchy and what she feels is intolerance from the LDS church. By the end, she delivered a good message, that we are all children of our Heavenly Father (and she would add Mother as does Carol Lynn P...more

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