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Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs | |||||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Publisher: William Morrow Catalog: Book Release date: 2008-05-13 Media: Hardcover Number of pages: 448 Ean: 9780739496343 Book Isbn: 0061628018  Tip: compare prices with similar booksAuthors:
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In September 2007, a packed courtroom in St. George, Utah, sat hushed as Elissa Wall, the star witness against polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, gave captivating testimony of how Jeffs forced her to marry her first cousin at age fourteen. This harrowing and vivid account proved to be the most compelling evidence against Jeffs, showing the harsh realities of this closed community and the lengths to which Jeffs went in order to control the sect's women. Now, in this courageous memoir, Elissa Wall tells the incredible and inspirational story of how she emerged from the confines of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and helped bring one of America's most notorious criminals to justice. Offering a child's perspective on life in the FLDS, Wall discusses her tumultuous youth, explaining how her family's turbulent past intersected with her strong will and identified her as a girl who needed to be controlled through marriage. Detailing how Warren Jeffs's influence over the church twisted its already rigid beliefs in dangerous new directions, Wall portrays the inescapable mind-set and unrelenting pressure that forced her to wed despite her repeated protests that she was too young. Once she was married, Wall's childhood shattered as she was obligated to follow Jeffs's directives and submit to her husband in "mind, body, and soul." With little money and no knowledge of the outside world, she was trapped and forced to endure the pain and abuse of her loveless relationship, which eventually pushed her to spend nights sleeping in her truck rather than face the tormentor in her bed. Yet even in those bleak times, she retained a sliver of hope that one day she would find a way out, and one snowy night that came in the form of a rugged stranger named Lamont Barlow. Their chance encounter set in motion a friendship and eventual romance that gave her the strength she needed to break free from her past and sever the chains of the church. But though she was out of the FLDS, Wall would still have to face Jeffs—this time in court. In Stolen Innocence, she delves into the difficult months on the outside that led her to come forward against him, working with prosecutors on one of the biggest criminal cases in Utah's history, so that other girls still inside the church might be spared her cruel fate. More than a tale of survival and freedom, Stolen Innocence is the story of one heroic woman who stood up for what was right and reclaimed her life. |
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Written on July 8, 2008 Summary: Good Book I enjoyed reading this book. Broke my heart to hear everything she and her family went through. I thought the first half of the book was a litle slow moving but otherwise I enjoyed it. She's a strong woman. I would recommend this book.  Written on July 8, 2008 Summary: Warren Jeffs Biggest Mistake A refreshing account of the young woman who brought about the downfall of Warren Jeff as leader/prophet of the polygamous sect of the Morman religion. In this day and age it is very difficult to understand how there can be this big body of people held captive to the controlling mindset of women being possessions. This book has it all - an understanding of brainwashing techniques and the lustful ways of the men that us them. Wake up USA! Read the book and weep at our ignorance. Written on July 8, 2008 Summary: The case that got the ball rolling. The awareness of the public regarding polygamy and its harmful effects has increased dramatically since early April, 2008, when Texas authorities raided the FLDS compound at El Dorado. Several books have been written in the last 2 years or so by women who managed to get out of the grip of FLDS or other fundamentalist polygamist sects. No doubt their sales have increased since this raid (at least I hope so.) This book, though, is the one written by the young woman whose victimization ultimately led to the arrest and imprisonment of Warren Jeffs. You should read all these books. Save this one for last, however, because in a sense it is a culmination, of sorts, of the issues raised in the other stories. Many elements of these various sagas are similar: raised from birth in the polygamist sect, the same game of mind control and behavior control by a handful of men acting without checks and balances, unhappiness and at times terror in the lives of the young victims (especially women) as they grow, become "married", and are at that point the chattel of their "husband" and expected to become an ever-willing baby making machine. The story is so familiar, after reading one or two of these accounts. Elissa's account is different. She figured out at a young age that something was grievously wrong with this culture and its mores. She knew instinctively that all of this was wrong and harmful. Even more astoundingly, she found the courage to get out. Talk about courage on a battlefield?--read this and see what courage it takes for a young girl to do what is right in the face of friends and family condemning her to Hell. The lesson for the rest of us similar to that in the other accounts. One is never wrong to think for oneself; to question those who claim an absolute authority over a person's life and body (especially when they claim a religious authority to do so.) Given the odds stacked against her, it is amazing that the outcome led to Jeffs' imprisonment. She is a remarkable woman. You should read her book.  Written on July 7, 2008 Summary: "keep sweet" and carry a big stick on the FLDS stairway to heaven Most mothers and fathers would lay down their lives to protect their children, but not the parents of Stolen Innocence author Elissa Wall (warning-upcoming spoilers). Her mother Sharon becomes the second (of three required) wife of Douglas Wall, who sires almost two-dozen children with the three of them. Dad's response to learning of abuse suffered by his toddler daughter: a verbal complaint to church leaders, which goes nowhere. At seven, (p 36) Elissa's 22-year-old sister learns she'll marry Rulon Jeffs, a man (at 81) old-enough to be her great-grandfather. Two years later (p 193), another sister, then nineteen, shares the same fate. At ten, Dad decides that her 18-year-old brother must leave the household (p 47) rather than attend "reform" (think forced labor church camp for naughty kids). Mom promptly ditches him by the side of the highway. Months later, after a series of warnings and punishments, God, through his mouthpiece Warren Jeffs, deems Douglas unworthy and "reassigns" Sharon and her children to a man with already over 15 wives and twice as many children. Fortunately, (p 101) God transforms the tainted blood and DNA of reassignees to match that of the worthy fatherly successor. By the time Sharon Wall learns that her daughter is to be married at fourteen, she knows just what to do: throw her to the wolves (after writing the obligatory complaint letter). (p 149) "This must be the will of God and the prophet," Mom tells her future rape victime daughter. Elissa respectfully, repeatedly questions the decision, but is ultimately forced to submit to the demands of the FLDS and, in spite of zero knowledge about the birds and the bees, the amorous advances of her first-cousin husband. Expectedly, Mother and absent BioFather do nothing. Fortunately, she saves herself with a little help from a friend. Ms. Wall's story is compelling, but the writing of a middle-school educated girl is expectedly amateurish and stiff. In fact, the attempts at using challenging vocabulary and complicated phrasing only make things worse, (p 66) "...assuage my own overwhelming loneliness," (p 123) "A sick, heavy feeling crawled into my stomach...," (p 128) "...she cautioned, interrupting my stream of consciousness," (p 146) "...deep melancholy had taken over my mind," (p 154) "Sad thoughts permeated my mind and put me in a somber daze." Stolen Innocence won't be winning any literary awards, but it is an honest, forthright, firsthand account of one girl's memories of life within the FLDS. Good companion reads: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. Written on July 7, 2008 Summary: Disappointed I must say, I was disappointed in this book. I have read several other books by "wives" who have "escaped" and I found this one quite boring. I got really tired of hearing how Allen did this to me, Allen did that to me. As another reviewer stated, she had a rebellious spirit to challenge the prophet over and over. The first 100 pages were good, the last 100 pages were better, because of her courage in testifying against Warren Jeffs. The middle could have been pared down to 75 pages or so. If you want a really good glimpse into the mindset of a FLDS wife read Irene Spencer's Shattered Dreams. But keep in mind her story takes place in the 50s and 60s and has a totally different viewpoint. |
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| Our price | $17.13 | $16.47 | $13.57 | $16.49 | $11.53 | $16.47 |
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| Lowest used price | $11.49 | $5.44 | $13.57 | $6.95 | $9.96 | $9.60 |
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| Collectible price | $25.95 | $26.50 | - | $24.99 | - | - |
| Catalog | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book |
| Release date | 2008-05-13 | 2007-10-16 | 2006-06-15 | 2007-08-22 | 2004-06-01 | 2008-04-21 |
| Media | Hardcover | Hardcover | Paperback | Hardcover | Paperback | Hardcover |
| Number of pages | 448 | 432 | 445 | 400 | 240 | 304 |
| Ean | 9780739496343 | 9780767927567 | 9780977973002 | 9781599957197 | 9781930074132 | 9780312372484 |
| Book Isbn | 0061628018 | 0767927567 | 097797300X | 1599957191 | 1930074131 | 0312372485 |
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