God's Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation

by Andrea Moore-Emmett

A chilling indictment of contemporary Mormon and Christian fundamentalist polygamy, God's Brothel reveals gruesome facts about Bible-based polygamy through the brave voices of 18 women who escaped from 10 of the 11 main religious groups as well as independent families. Their stories include rape, incest, orgies, and violence, making this form of polygamy more akin to sexual slavery than to any quaint religious or lifestyle choice.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Cults, Polygamy, Mormonism, Cult Classics, True Crime

238 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

Reviews

[Lacey Louwagie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polygamy seems to be a theme in my life all of a sudden. Recently my dad picked up the book Escape! by Carolyn Jessop (a former polygamist wife) and Laura Palmer and hasn't been able to stop talking about it. At the same time, a coworker at the library told me about his fascination with TLC's new reality show, Sister Wives (I've since gotten hooked, too, which is a challenge because I don't even have TLC). Sister Wives paints a rather rosy picture of polygamy, but I knew God's brothel would depict something different. So even though I got the book several years ago after reading a review in a feminist publication (I believe it was Off Our Backs), now seemed like the time to read it.

It's been a long time since I've read something like this, that sheds gruesome light on the atrocities inherent in the exploitation of women and children, and it took me a little while to settle into it. I didn't really want to have that "the world is a terrible place" sort of feeling that these types of stories tend to give me. Still, I cannot stress how important I think it is for people to tell these stories -- and for others to hear them, even when it's hard.

God's Brothel is a collection of interviews/stories about 18 women who left polygamy. The interviews and book was compiled by a journalist who was herself raised in Mormonism, but left it as an adult. It's clear throughout the book that she's a firm believer that abuse is inherent within polygamy, and she makes a strong case for it. But despite the fact that I could never live a polygamous (or polyamorous, if we want to take the "liberal" version of it) lifestyle or relationship, I'm still not totally convinced that polygamy is the problem. The real problem is a patriarchal/cultish culture that expresses itself in polygamy in these fundamentalist religions. It's a culture that sees women and children as commodities to be stockpiled much like money or ammunition or other provisions for the "end times" (which most of these groups also do). Within a system like this, women and children suffer suffer many abuses, not the least of which is often being married without their consent. What I would like to see is a harsher crackdown on all the other atrocities practiced within these cultures: the incest, the rape, the child molestation, the neglect, the abuse on so many levels. It is so disheartening to read these stories and to see how isolated the women caught in these lives are, to see how so many of the authorities "look the other way" either because they a) secretly sympathize with the polygamists or b) the problem is just too big to adequately address (which is in itself a cause for major concern).

Although many of the women interviewed experienced similar trials, the presence of their own voices kept them from all sounding the same. I was struck in particular with how vulnerable many of them were when they fell into polygamy, and felt sad that there was no one to help them earlier in their lives so that they didn't have to get involved in such an abusive system. The people who run these "religions" really are mentally ill and, I hate to say it, evil. They'll twist their religion to justify anything, to get them whatever it is that they want, including permission to marry and procreate with their own children and to tell anyone who disagrees with them that they are bad, unworthy, ungrateful, etc. It's the worst kind of abuse of power, and while I may not agree that polygamy must universally be stopped, the leaders of these fundamentalist religions/cults certainly should be.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was incredible. It's hard to give it five stars because it was so very, very hard to read. The first section is all about polygamy, facts about it and its history. Then there are the memoirs – the stories of 18 women who were in polygamous relationships and then escaped. Their stories were horrific – it was almost impossible to believe that such things could happen in the United States. They talked about rape, child abuse, forced child marriage, child molestation, kidnapping, and emotional and physical abuse. It's horrible how these people were so brainwashed in these cold that they were free to leave, just like battered women cling to the man that is hurting them. There's a lot about the psychology of this that I don't understand, even though I was raised with much of the same "your hell bound" rhetoric. It made me mad that a lot of people in this book escaped prosecution and were not punished, though somewhere. This organization Tapestry seems very valuable – I'm going to see if I can find a website online to donate money to them. It's an organization that helps women who leave polygamy advocates for prosecuting the abusers. This book is something I'll remember for a long time.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A raw and fascinating look into the lives of women who were or are involved in religious polygamy. Most the women featured have escaped the life.

I was a bit dismayed that other reviewers here have giving this book low ratings because either the subject matter is really difficult, or that the (mostly) un-educated women are telling the story in their own words. To me, this makes the book all that more powerful.

The stories are jaw-dropping, painful, and very sad. Yet these women are resilient and strong. I needed to take frequent breaks to remind myself that the book is not about extreme evil, but about how much good remains in those who've been so mistreated.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be rated a 3.5 if possible for me. I expected it to be written differently - I expected it to be more in memoir form and it's not. It's really a bunch os short - very short - stories. There are 18 different stories from 18 different women who among them, have lived in 10 of the 12 main polygamist groups that have been established for at least five years.
The stories of what these women and their children endured are no less than horrific. I got interested in polygamy after reading Escape by Carolyn Jessup and have since been buying and reading anything and everything I can on the subject. When I started this I'd already read a few books on polygamy and still this taught me things I didn't know. There is a forword and introduction in the book that shouldn't be skipped. I learned some valuable information not only from the stories but from those two sections.
It's so hard to understand why these women, especially the women not born into polygamy, got involved with these groups in the first place but a few of the stories in God's Brothel hit on that and make it somewhat more understandable.
These people believe many, many, many insane ideas, one of which is that doctors are not to be used. They believe if someone is sick or hurt it's God's way of punishing them and they need to repent in order to heal. Women give birth with no aid or sometimes the aid of a midwife who has little to no education at all, much less any trainging or knowledge of childbirth. Some believe that to keep their bloodline 'pure' they cannot procreate outside of their family. This leads to babies being born with deformities, illnesses, all sorts of health issues, etc. Yet other groups have people who simple disappear when they don't accept the way of life. Usually the young girls are married off to a much older man, many times a man who is related to them in some way. The young boys who refuse to conform sometimes meet with unfortunate 'accidents'.
Girls as young as 8 and 9 have been known to marry men in their 40's, 50's, 60's and older. They become 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 16th wives to these men.
One thing that really struck me back when I read Escape and with every book since then, is that these women, while in the actual lifestyle try to pull other women in for sister-wives, they try to hide what's really going on from the outside world and they hide their true feelings even within their own community. Yet as soon as they come to terms with their feelings once out out polygamous relationships they are able to speak on the feelings and relate a polygamous relationship to hell.
It's heartbreaking it what it is. How any mother - no matter what God or anything else she believes in - can sit by and watch her baby be molested, abused, and raped is beyond me. There is no force so deep to make someone think that's okay.
I'm done ranting - until the next book anyway. :D
If you're looking for a *different* book about the polygamy I'd say give this a shot. It's different in the way it's written. I do think it would have had more of an impact if Moore-Emmett had put her personal touch to the book and then stepped back for the 18 women to handle the rest. Instead it's more like Moore-Emmett interviewed the women and then pieced the stories together herself. It took away from the book for me but it's most definitely still worth reading. It's also a fairly fast read since it's broken up like it is.

[eRin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The accounts of 18 women who escaped polygamy are devastating. Incest, rape, sexual assault , violence, verbal and physical abuse--these women experienced it all. The women lived in 10 of the 11 main polygamous groups in the United States, and all the women lived very similar lives--which demonstrates that there is not a polygamous community that is not harmful to women and girls. It is amazing to read of the leaders' reasoning for the abuse (especially the one explaining why it is okay that he "marry" his daughter). These stories give a good insight into the world of polygamy, and reinforce the fact that the marriage of 13-year-old girls to men 3, 4 and 5 times older than them is only one of the problems in the world of polygamy.

[Kayla Binkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent read for anyone interested in learning of the damages of polygamy. Though it may seem to be a very extreme way of living, this book, through the true stories of survivors, shows how someone can be a hop, skip, and a jump away from being entrenched in it, and creating a hellish life for one's children and grandchildren. The book sets the scene very well by showing the facts of polygamy as recently as twenty years ago so that readers can have information to ease them into the stories of abuse, assault, and neglect told by many brave and tenacious women who survived these conditions.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it is just amazing what humans can do to each other. Especially those atrocities done in the name of religion in this case. Moore-Emmett is not unfamiliar to polygamy. Growing up in a Mormon household there always flirted the disaster of a polygamous marriage for her. Luckily, she was able to get out of it and has spent a good portion of her life helping Mormon women escape polygamy and running programs to help them in the transition. This book is about her telling some of their stories.

The first part of this book goes through some of the history and beliefs of the polygamous sects. While she does include some Christian polygamist groups the majority of this book deals with those who associate themselves as Mormon.

The next and largest part of the book is the stories of women who have escaped. Eighteen women are interviewed and while they come from mostly different sects, their stories are hauntingly familiar. Abuse, sexual abuse, child marriage, abandonment, starvation, and other atrocities are just some of the recurring themes. Sometimes these women even had to leave their children behind as Utah has some government and local police officials who are polygamists as well and make it hard for them to escape with their families intact. There are also the threats of death and blood atonement as well for these ladies.

However, as horrible as their stories are they do give hope that people are trying to change what is happening. Abuse isn't being swept under the rug in the guise of "religious freedom" in some cases and groups are working to further laws to protect these children and women. While many of the women will carry guilt and problems to work through for the rest of their lives, they breathe a little easier knowing they have freed themselves from a worse fate.

I did find interesting that some of these women weren't even Mormon to begin with but fell in with the religion because of the falsities and allure of being accepted presented. It shows what harm low self esteem can do to a person that they would allow themselves to become second class citizens or chattal. But the stories of the women that did that in this book do end on a happy note of them leaving these disastorous relationships.

This is certainly a book that will shock and I think its important that these stories be told. No one should be degraded like this or treated with such abuse. No one should have to watch their children be abused in the name of god. Even if it is only writing a book, Moore-Emmett is helping to make these voices heard.

Moore-Emmett does a wonderful job of putting together these stories. While her writing can get a bit redundant with tons of names of associated polygamists thrown in and groups listed, the majority of her work is easy to read. She also has spent a lot of time researching and thoughtfully includes those citations as well.

My only complaint on this book was that for the most part it didn't really describe the reality of escaping from the sects. From reading other books on the subject I know it isn't easy. However, in most of these stories it almost seemed as if they got up and left when they felt like it. I'm sure this isn't the case so I would have liked to learn more about that aspect.

This book definitely made me feel sick at times but opened my eyes to whats out there. I will be doing more research on the subject I am sure.

God's Brothel
Copyright 2004
219 pages
Also includes a dictionary and reader's guide.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

"God's Brothel" is an insider's view of Bible-based polygamy in the United States, Canada and Mexico. While many of the organizations are fundamentalist LDS offshoots, some of them are not. The 18 women whose stories are told in this book come from 10 of the 11 known polygamist organizations in the US. There are doubtless many others.

Andrea Moore-Emmett interviewed hundreds of women and chose these stories as representative of the whole. All speak out under their real names. They tell stories of being forced into marriage as young as age 12, often to men old enough to be their grandfathers. Women in these organizations are expected to have a child every year (related phenomenon to the equally abusive "quiverfull" movement). Because they are most frequently not legally married to the fathers of their children (in some organizations, women are moved between households at the direction of the "prophet"), they live on welfare and foodstamps -- or scrip for the company store, where they work for as little as 25 cents an hour. Being on welfare is seen as honorable, as it "bleeds the beast" and helps bring down the US government in retribution for outlawing polygamy -- at least, in the eyes of these so-called prophets. Domestic violence is rampant. Yet, all of the women are directed to publicly proclaim their happiness living a lifestyle of drudgery, marital rape (women are expected to be available at all times for intercourse), endangered health and more.

Those who read this book and wonder why these women had such a hard time walking away must remember that these women have been reared to believe that they have no choices -- that the men are there to direct them, and they are to be submissive. This is patriarchy taken to its worst extreme. One of the common problems is that law enforcement turns a blind eye to issues brought to them -- because oftentimes those in authority are also practicing polygamy and side with the "priesthood holder" (any male age 12 or older in these organizations is considered a priest with authority over women).

This book was an eye-opener to me, even though I have been studying this issue since the Warren Jeffs affair hit the media. I wanted to understand why these women could possibly want to go back to a horrible living situation, or defend a man who impregnated at 12-year-old "wife." The mind control involved in these organizations was not discussed in anything I read prior to this, and it is shocking.

Highly recommended for those who care about womens' rights and ending abuses like those discussed in this book.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, did you think I could like this one? The accounts of the women who escaped contemporary polygamy are dark and informative about this horrendous lifestyle, but the author's introductory remarks show her bias. She is careless about acknowledging the distance between mainstream Mormons and polygamists, and downplays the disapproval and sadness that the abuse in this practice gives members of the mainstream church. She also implicitly condemns religion in general. Her reasoning: much modern polygamy is motivated by religious belief and almost always results in subjugation and humiliation of women and exploitation of children, with sexual and other kinds of abuse of both groups. She then implies that therefore, all belief will result in at least some degree of such enslavement and that the best state is when someone is "liberated" of all religion. I not only question her assumptions, I also question some of her facts. I assume she got her numbers from the polygamists themselves, but she WAY overstates the numbers of polygamists in Utah and denigrates the prosecutors who go after polygamists, not acknowledging how hard it is to make a legal case against these secretive cult members, especially since their victims, as is common for the victims of domestic abuse, deny or refuse to testify in such cases. If you don't mind this kind of bias, read the whole book. The book is worth reading, if just to read the accounts of the women. You'll be shocked and horrified at the extreme conditions that people impose on others and that they suffer at the hands of others.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

All I can say is thank heaven for Tapestry. The book is an eye opener when you think you have heard enough.

[Ana Mardoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

God's Brothel / 978-1-930074-13-2

For anyone seeking a swift introduction into the heartbreaking world of polygamous cults, "God's Brothel" is the perfect choice. Well-written, with a necessary light touch given the intensity of the subject matter, this collection of mini-biographies follows the trials and sorrows of 18 women who have lived and escaped polygamy.

Unlike the usual polygamy biographies, these individual stories are deliberately kept short and condensed in order to provide the broadest introduction to the reader in the shortest amount of time. This makes for a very efficient means to introduce new readers to this terrifying world of oppression, and means more time is spent on relevant experiences and beliefs, and less time is spent on the daily life details - so depending on what you want from a polygamy biography book, judge accordingly.

What is really fascinating about this introduction, is that several of the stories told here come from women who weren't necessarily born or raised to polygamy - several were raised as mainstream Mormon believers, who came to feel that if they were destined to live polygamy anyway, they might as well start early in this life. Also fascinating is that several of the polygamous cults discussed here are not the 'usual' FLDS variety - some of them aren't even Mormon flavored, which was new to me.

Although this doesn't have the detail and polish of biographies like "Escape", this is definitely a good introduction to the subject matter and will break your heart eighteen times over.

~ Ana Mardoll

[Mary MacKintosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author does not pretend to be objective. I believe it would be very difficult to approach this topic and be objective. The situations of women and children of the polygamous lifestyle seem too negative to be defended. The lack of education opportunities eliminates the options for anyone living in a polygamous community, and to me that is significant. Why provide poor or no education to your community—ever? How is that a good strategy for the individuals, or the community as a whole?

The book is a collection of the accounts of women who have left polygamous communities. Unfortunately for the reader but unavoidably for the author, personal accounts are difficult to document in these circumstances. Several of the women mention the high rate of birth defects in polygamous communities that are the consequence of inbreeding. Two mention "poofers"—infants born who disappear, and which are presumed to be buried somewhere. These would be children who were so genetically damaged they could not survive, or that is the implication. I have read this in other accounts of polygamy in the United States, and would like this situation to be explored. Trafficking of young girls is also referred to, and there is some evidence of this—to Canada, as well as over state lines, and this would seem to provide an opportunity for federal law enforcement to intercede and investigate what occurs in these closed communities, but nothing so far seems to have been done.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book soon after reading The Sound of Gravel, the memoir (such an innocent word) of another woman who managed to extract herself from one of the polygamous cults described in this book. The Sound of Gravel was more engaging and personal. But God's Brothel nicely fleshed out the context, both of the cults and how difficult it is to leave. The stories of the nineteen women have a lot in common, and are grueling, heartbreaking, and infuriating. There's another common thread, an organization called Tapestry against Polygamy, apparently now defunct, which supported women who were leaving the cults. It and successor groups, and this book, have an agenda of keeping polygamy illegal and enforcing those laws. I'm not sure what I think about that. It does sound like the local authorities often are (or are in cahoots with) the men who are oppressing, molesting, and raping the women and children, so any enforcement would have to be at a higher level. I would prefer targeting the abuse rather than the polygamy itself, but this world is so far from my own that I have no idea what would be most effective. Horrible situation.

These two books also made me think a lot about how children's beliefs are shaped right from birth. It seems like abuse, intimidation, humiliation, and lack of outside contact can be very effective tools to inculcate beliefs (and fears) that from other viewpoints make absolutely no sense.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very interesting and informative. The first section gives a simple but thorough history of polygamy in the Mormon church, its repudiation and the many splinter groups that left the church because of that. The author then traces the efforts and lack of effort to enforce anti-polygamy laws and the recent developments involving polygamy.
In the end there is a glossary that really helps, because like all groups, especially closed off ones, these "churches" have their own special jargon.
The body of the book is composed of 18 stories by women who were involved in polygamy. Each story is sad and shocking and horrible, but ultimately one of victory, since all 18 women are no longer involved.
Many of them are founders or workers in the organization Tapestry Against Polygamy. I really admire their courage, especially considering that blood atonement is a very real possibility, not some antiquated ritual that was practiced long ago. The author gives many,many examples of this from now-a-days.
These stories do a good job showing how a person can get wrapped up and warped into another person and start thinking that she has to do what he says to be right with God. It happens a lot easier than most people would think. They use classic mind-control techniques and those techniques work, unfortuantly.
This book was sad, but I'm glad I read it.

[Trena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find the subject of polygamy fascinating. This is a very quick read, each chapter is another woman's story. Each woman leaves polygamy in the end. It pounds in the fact that polygamy breeds sexual predators, monsters really. It has convinced me that it has very little to do with religion, and everything to do with keeping women passive, submissive and fearful. What is scary is how, very much like battered women, they go back for more. I've found myself in a violent relationship before, and I'm still trying to figure out how that could happen to a self assured, intelligent (I think anyway), feminist like myself.... I think that these women (the women in the book) are trusting, and want to believe in love, and in this case that God has a plan for them. Its unfortunate there are so many twisted, selfish people out there that take advantage of that trust. Its also really disgusting how many of the sister wives and mothers of these women were sexually and physically abusive. In addition to the abuse and brainwashing these women are so very TRAPPED because they have baby after baby after baby after baby after baby after baby..... Thank God for birth control. 100 years ago, without birth control, there must of been many, many women that were stuck in horrible situations.

[Emily Wiersma]

I'm really glad I finally got a chance to read to this book. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it because it's not that kind of book. This book was a smattering of stories from different women in various religious sects who lived a life of polygamy. In none of this women's lives did polygamy turn out to be the happy life that polygamist claim it to be. Instead these women told tales of physical abuse, sexual abuse, incest and other crimes. What I liked was that it didn't just stick with one particular group but took women from different sects; the aub, flds, the lebaron group and a few others. It was also amazing to me how little help these women got from the outside world until they started forming their own organization. If you want to learn about a world that is in your own backyard I would definetly start with this book.

[LauraTrev1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great quick read but very much to the point. I starts off by explaining to the reader about polygamy, Mormonism, FLDS etc. What its about and how the religion started. It has the story of 18 woman that have escaped/released themselves from living in that world. It is interesting to read the different ways they ended up in it. Some born and raised, some chose the religion and went into it by marriage and one was even given in adoption as a baby to these people. So many different stories but all so sad. I have read many books on Polygamy and this is a great one.. a bunch of short stories put together but they really give you an insight on what is lived by these women. I recommend.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. I had already done reading into polygamy so this wasn't really all that surprising. The wow is more for the courage to leave and stay gone and *then* tell your story.

My only real criticism was that it was super hard to read with many women mentioned having the same names. I don't think they were supposed to be the same person and many people's names were changed - so why not change them to something more unique so that I'm not reading about multiple Sylvia's and Sherries and Lauras and Heathers wondering if they're interconnected and if so getting overwhelmed trying to keep them straight.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a heartbreaking account of eighteen women who escaped polygamy in various places around the US. It's quite horrifying to read how many times these women contacted police and authorities for help and were ignored. As the book explains, a lot of these polygamist compounds have police officers that are part of the faith, so they don't take any of the threats (almost always from the women/girls) seriously. It's encouraging to hear that the women who tell their stories in this book were able to escape and attempt a normal life away from abuse, incest and torment.

[Artemisia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was poorly written, but I also think the stories told need to be heard. The author obviously holds a prejudice against the LDS Church. Some of her claims are extreme. For example, she claims that Elizabeth Smart acquiesced to her captures because of her LDS upbringing. Nevertheless, I found the individual experiences compelling and horrifying. In all its forms, polygamy is degrading.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible. Was written terribly...I thought it would be more like a memoir but it was actually written like a science term paper.

Also, it was WAY too violent. I couldn't finish the whole book b/c the stories of abuse were just so violent it literally made my stomach sick.

I knew that the FLDS had issues, and I knew that some of that would be exposed when I read that. I just had NO idea it was going to be that violent.

[Tootsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

religious cultism is sickening. and i am also left to wonder what in the hell is wrong with our culture that provides *this* as such an enticing situation for women. "heaven" aside.....i just dont get it. i grew up mormon and veeeeeery conservative and pretty fundamentalist-this would have never flown with nearly anyone i knew.

having said that i strongly support any adult choosing their own path.....its the children that are the biggest victims. they never had a choice to live polygamy.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there had been fewer women profiled in this book, it would have been more interesting -- Moore-Emmett rarely went into much detail about each woman's story, giving each of them only a few pages. Had there only been five or six women profiled, versus eighteen, she would have been able to go into more detail and discuss the deep scars and effects of each fundamentalist sects of the LDS and Christian church on each woman.

[Leslie North · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I would rate this. It was a R or pg-13 type of book, but interesting. Sad and interesting. It gives a little glimpse of why it is a disaster to take a celestial principle and see it lived out in telestial hearts. Tyranny, abuse, violence, etc all a part of the family dynamics. So in my opinion, it is not the nature of polygamy, but the nature of man that makes these situations what they are; ghastly and awful for everyone!

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author tries to detail the lives of 18 women, give a brief history on the Mormon church, gloss over the beliefs of a dozen or so sects of Fundamentalist Mormonism, and argue why polygamy is never a good idea. This is way too much to cram into a 200-page book, and it shows in the choppy, hard-to-read writing style. If nothing else, it's a quick read, but I think she tried unsuccessfully to cover too much.

[Suzie Quint · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of the stories of women who have escaped from polygamous marriages. It's so depressing that this isn't pursued and prosecuted more vigorously in this country. It's slavery with brainwashing thrown in to convince the victim that this is what they have to endure to please God. I've read other books on the subject, but reading about all these women makes it feel more wide-spread than it does when it's just one woman's story.

[Alison Coe · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is heartbreaking and enraging at the same time. the 18 personal reflections say the same thing over and over: emotional and sexual abuse of young children who grow up and some run away and see the 'cult' for what it really is, and some never leave. the extreme poverty and birth defects their communities experience is staggering. a good read if you are at all interested in the topic.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may be biased toward this book,.as I respect Andrea Moore-Emmett, and all that she's faced as an activist for the rights of women in Utah, and for taking a stand against Mormon Fundamentalism. Andrea and I met at a National NOW Conference, at which time, she was staying strong in the face of being blackballed in her career for, among other things, writing this book.

[Franziska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very scary to read what happens to some women in the name of religion. Definitely eye-opening, except I don't remember any of these stories dealing with actual LDS people. Most/all of them were from some of those fundamentalist people in Utah.

[Lyndzi28 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a compilation of stories told by women and children who have escaped a polygamous lifestyle. It was similar to other memoirs I've read but I liked that it was many stories put together and the proceeds of the book help the organization TAPESTRY AGAINST POLYGAMY