The Polygamist's Daughter: A Memoir
Ratings11
Average rating3.6
I love FLDS memoirs, and I am fascinated by the LeBaron family. But this extremely drawn-book is weighed down by minute details of cleaning out second-hand appliances for resale, for example. Plus, the author narrates the book, and she has a very young voice, and it was disconcerting to feel as if a child was telling me this story of crime and abuse (and selling used appliances). I just had to stop.
I wish there was more to this book. Maybe that means I'm jaded? I felt like there was less content here that was new or refreshing or informative than I expected. There was a stint of about 5 chapters where I felt really engaged.
The way she tells this story is like slowly revealing a series of horrible events, but there is still hope in it. I don't think I would be able to read this if it wasn't for that hope.
In The Polygamist's Daughter, Anna LeBaron tells her story of growing up in a violent polygamist cult. Ms. LeBaron was one of many children from her father's multiple sister-wives, and reading about her childhood will give you chills. She draws you in with a harrowing tale of middle-of-the-night moves, abuse at the hands of authority figures, hits put out on family members by other family members, and things that boggle the mind when you think that they REALLY happened.
But her story is not just one of horror and grief and suffering. It is one of salvation, of redemption, of freedom. This is a book well worth the time you'll invest in reading it, and once you start, you may not want to put it down until you're done.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions voiced here are my own, and I don't say nice things about books I don't read and enjoy.