Saturday, December 20, 2008

Escape by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer

Published in 2007. 413 pages.


Reading Escape, the memoir of a former polygamist wife in the FLDS Church - the cult formerly led by Warren Jeffs - is a bit like driving past a bad car accident on the freeway: one isn't sure that she really wants to see what happened but she can't help staring anyway.

A compelling read - I read nearly the whole thing in one day - Jessop's account illustrates the evil of a religion that teaches that women and children are a man's property and that discourages education and individual thought. The book could have used some better editing, as it sometimes rambles and repeats itself, but it's worth a look. Escape was a Salt Lake County Library's Reader's Choice pick for the second half of 2008.

(Cross-posted from my book blog.)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I am posting here in case my message got lost in the In Their Shoes Challenge. Are you going to have it in 2009? I hope so as real life got in the way this year. Contact me at:

rainbowmagicstarwho5ATyahooDOTcom

Judy/Intergalactic Bookworm