Monday, April 4, 2011

Escape and other FLDS stories

Oh my goodness. Escape is horrifyingly terrifying. Jessop was raised in the FLDS group in southern Utah/northern Arizona. She was married to a 50 year old when she was 18 because it was destined by God. She lived through years of abuse from her husband and his other wives. She has 8 children (her husband had over 50 kids when she escaped). Her last 4 pregnancies were life threatening due to placental abruptions, however, her husband was reluctant to let her get proper medical care. Nor was she even allowed birth control when risky pregnancies were a possibility.

I've previously read Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer and recently read Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall. The lives people lead in the FLDS are so unlike our own and so lacking in basic human rights. Jessop quotes the Utah Attorney General as saying there's a corner of Utah that is worse than the Taliban, and after having read these stories, it has got to be comparable. All 3 of these books are fascinating (yet horrifying) reads.

1 comment:

  1. This book was so powerful it was hard for me to finish.

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