Faithful Transgressions In The American West: Six Twentieth-Century Mormon Women's Autobiographical Acts

by Laura Bush

The central issue Bush finds in these works is how their authors have dealt with the authority of Mormon Church leaders. As she puts it in her preface, "I use the phrase 'faithful transgression' to describe moments in the texts when each writer, explicitly or implicitly, commits herself in writing to trust her own ideas and authority over official religious authority while also conceiving of and depicting herself to be a 'faithful' member of the Church." Bush recognizes her book as her own act of faithful transgression. Writing it involved wrestling, she states, "with my own deeply ingrained religious beliefs and my equally compelling education in feminist theories that mean to liberate and empower women." Faithful Transgressions examines a remarkable group of authors and their highly readable and entertaining books. In producing the first significant book-length study of Mormon women's autobiographical writing, Bush rides a wave of memoir publishing and academic interest in autobiography and other life narratives. As she elucidates these works in relation to the religious tradition that played a major role in shaping them, she not only positions them in relation to feminist theory and current work on women's life writings but ties them to the long literary tradition of spiritual autobiography.

264 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Laura Lane Welch Bush is the former First Lady of the United States and the wife of the forty-third President of the United States George W. Bush.

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, focused study of Mormon women's autobiography, a field whose complexity and depth often surprises those who know little about it. Bush focuses on six books published in the 20th century, even as the subject matter spans much of the history of the church--Mary Ann Hafen's book, for instance, although written and published in the 1930s, is set in 1860, when she was six years old; while "Refuge" by Terry Tempest Williams is set late enough in the late 20th century to be able to comment on the way gender had become contested and fraught within Mormonism. Thus, despite looking at only six books, Bush is able to provide a broad overview of the way Mormon women have written about crucial topics through much of the church's existence. It is therefore extremely useful when evaluating other studies of Mormon women's writing.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reminds me of a conversation I had with my (engineer) husband about an assignment for my Current Issues in Mormonism class (for which class I read this book). The instructions said to dig deep, past the obvious answers. His response was, "why do you have to dig past the obvious answers? They are obvious because they are right! You go past that, you venture into made-up territory! Is she asking you to make up answers?"

I didn't really like this book. Apparently, I am not cut out to be a feminist or a religious study major.

[idkailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was like….really good. A great deep dive on the conventions of how mormon women craft autobiography and the concept of faithful transgression. I am deeply invested in every mormon woman finding ways to have a voice of their own.

[missy jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. I love reading what women have to say about themselves.

[Licia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for Current Issues in Mormonism class at ASU.