The Shark God by Charles Montgomery

Montgomery went in search of magic.  Well actually he just wanted to trace his ancestor's footsteps, but then his mission quickly became the unknown and magic once he was in Melanesia.  This book, rather than be on comparative religion and travel like I thought it would be, actually read more as a memoir (although to be sure there is religion and travel included).

As a young boy, Montgomery discovered journals from his missionary ancestor and the stories contained within fascinated him enough that he wanted to retrace those steps in history.  Armed with his savings account and a little bit of knowledge on writing in the travel industry, he flies out to the islands in the Pacific to meet with the locals and see if there is any traditional religion left or if everyone had converted to Christianity.  What he found was a surprising mix between the two and a people divided by their beliefs.

While Montgomery fully fleshes himself and his beliefs in the book, I couldn't help but feeling that the local people were left more two-dimensional.  They all had a personality quirk that set them off but their true description was in their religion and that seemed to be what defined them.  Their actual personal lives, hopes, and dreams we never heard much about and so it made it hard to care about their other beliefs.  Mongomery at least was interesting in his own thought exploration and it was interesting to see the goals of his travels change as he progressed through the islands.

The premise was a good one.  He wanted to see what those before him had seen and how the missionaries' work had changed the islands.  But then he started wanting to see the magic side and the customs that the native people gave up in favor of Christianity.  He puts in a lot of detail, but I do think that it starts to get repetitive and drawn out after awhile. Every person's story seemed the same and I felt like I was reading about the same person over and over again.  There were a few standouts; mainly about the missionary Patterson and some of the older stories and I did enjoy those parts of the book.  As for the other stories though I would rather have read more about the landscape and less about the people's betel nut habit.

An ok book.  It has a lot of interesting points from an anthropological standpoint but it presents it in a way that can be quite dry at times.

The Shark God
Copyright 2004
370 pages

In Movement There Is Peace by Elaine Foster & Joseph Foster

**This book was received as a Free Advanced Reviewer's Copy**

I'd never heard of The Camino De Santiago before reading this book. The Appalachian Trail, yes. The Camino, no. Maybe that's because even though it is a 800 km trek, it's more of a spiritual journey than a physical one. After all, you're supposed to receive forgiveness at the end and it's considered a pilgrimage.

Elaine Foster, a Psychologist, takes an early retirement to work on her own issues. Her husband, Joe, encourages her to walk the Camino with him. So they get ready to travel and fly over to Spain to begin their journey. Aside from the brutal physical aspect of it, it proves to be an emotional journey for them. They learn things about themselves, relationships, and other people and also meet quite a few eclectic people also traveling the Camino for their own reasons.

Elaine and Joe both take turns writing this book. It's broken up into each day (or almost each day, not every single one is here) and they both tell what they experience in that day in their own sections (labeled as who is narrating). They actually must be well suited for one another as I found their "voice" to be quite similar. They both focus on the emotional aspects of the journey and the introspection they experience. Joe tends to focus a little more on the food they encounter while Elaine focuses a tad more on the people. They're both brutally honest about their feelings and own perceived shortcomings and I think it was courageous that they could talk about their weaknesses like that. Perhaps that freedom is just one of the many things they learned on the Camino. I also liked some of the people they got to meet along the way. It was such a varied group and they all seemed like good people. I can't really recall any mean person that they encountered.

The dual writing style was a bit repetitive at first, but as the book got further in they had different things to talk about. In addition to their feelings of walking the Camino, they shared a little bit about equipment, a lot about the different places they stayed every night, and there were even a couple of recipes included in the book. In fact, the only thing that didn't have a lot of description was the trail itself. I was a bit saddened at the lack of scenery and mountain trails in the writing. There was a little, but the hostels they stayed at generally got more description than the beauty of nature. I understand that it was a spiritual journey, so emotions and people were of utmost importance to write about, but surrounded by all that beauty I just can't imagine not writing chapters upon chapters about it. It was still good writing though and it kept you engaged throughout the entire book. In fact, I'm not religious at all (and religion was a theme in this book) but there were several passages that really moved me, and one most poignantly right now "No matter how prepared we try to make ourselves for the inevitable reality of death, the work of true grief will always feel raw and painful. Accepting this truth helps to separate pain from unnecessary layers of suffering (pg.161)." I have a pet that was recently diagnosed with kidney failure. And it doesn't matter that I knew she was growing old, it still hurts to know that I'll be losing her at some point when she's been the only real constant in my life. But this sentence helped me to realize that even though it hurts, I can still enjoy what time I have. Maybe not what the author intended by this lesson, but still one that helped me.

Will I be hiking the Camino any time soon myself? No, probably not. I'm not at the point yet where I can just up and go because of responsibilities that keep me tied down. But it's always a possibility in the future and I am very grateful to this book for not only showing me the emotional path it offers, but letting me know of its existence in the first place! This is an excellent read for the traveler, self-help aficionado or lover of non-fiction journeys.

In Movement There Is Peace
Copyright 2013
296 pages

Chicken Soup for the Soul by Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield

So this is the original book. The one that started everything and spawned a series so large that most home libraries couldn't contain them all. Fortunately, since this is the first book it's not subject to a lot of the problems the others had. Although it does have it's cheesy moments, or maybe that's just me being older and more cynical than when I first encountered it.

The Chicken Soup for the soul books are compilations of stories, parables, verse, and other short writings that have a common theme of making you feel better about the world around you. Not all end happy but are meant to inspire. And this particular book has broken those different stories down into chapters titled, "On Love", "Learning to Love Yourself", "On Parenting", "On Learning", "Live Your Dream", "Overcoming Obstacles", and "Eclectic Wisdom". Sometimes the stories make sense in the chapters, like in the case of the parenting chapter containing a story "Why I chose my father to be my dad" which detailed the life of a dedicated parent. Others were not so obvious, like "Golden Buddha" in Learning to Love Yourself. Sure it was about finding that special something within, or they tried to tie it to that theme anyway, but it just didn't click with me in that chapter representation.

I'm not going to deny that some of the stories didn't bring tears to my eyes. They're meant to do that, just like those Budweiser commercials with the horses. They want to tug at your heartstrings. It's good advertising. And there were a lot of good stories in this book. At least half of them were positive, could make you cry, or had a good message. But then there were a lot of cheesy ones too. Or a lot that were quite obviously made up as opposed to being real life stories. A particular example of this would be the ones that mentioned a kind act preventing a suicide. I'm not saying that doesn't happen, but the stories here involving that theme just didn't ring as true.

This book also has undertones of religion, particularly Christianity. Sure there was a story about a Buddha, but it didn't go into that religion, merely used it as a fable of sorts. While there's nothing overt about the religion in these books, it is a common theme that they all share and some are more blatant than others. It's pretty sure that you'll never see a "Chicken Soup for the Atheist's Soul" coming from these publishers. But that's ok. It's their business and they can publish what they want. It's the reader's choice if they want to pick it up or not. But this first book is one where the religion isn't blatant and any reader can sit down and enjoy a few good short stories.

Probably one of the best of the whole series, before it got too big for itself. Sometimes the original is the one you need to stick with.

Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1993
308 pages

The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie

**This review is part of the Amazon Vine program**

I have to say I absolutely adored this book.  It was cute, informative, and really opened by eyes to Buddhism and some of its aspects, even if that wasn't its main intent.  I've been wanting to learn more about Buddhism anyway, and without meaning to, choosing this book to read helped with that.

The Dalai Lama's cat focuses around HHC (His Holiness' Cat)and her journey toward enlightenment while being near the Dalai Lama.  Found as a stray on the street and being a particularly weak one at that, she is nursed back to help by the Dalai Lama himself and his assistants.  As she stays with him and becomes his pet, she watches different people enter his life and seek learning and learns a few lessons herself.  While doing so, she finds peace with her faults and learns to be a better cat.  And really, this description is simplistic of the whole story itself, but I find it hard to describe it without giving away the pleasure of reading that I had myself.

HHC is a pretty funny cat.  She has her flaws but wants to be better, and I think that reflects on many people as well, so you can identify with her even if she is a cat.  She parallels things in her own life with that of the problems of the staff and visitors to the Dalai Lama's home and by endearing herself to us, she also makes it easier to relate to these people as well.  And those other people are interesting in their own right.  Franc, an owner of a cafe nearby is pretty ego-centric but you get to watch him grow through the book.  Other characters may only appear for a chapter, but you learn as well for them, like the cook with anger issues, who had to take a look at why she was angry and what she herself could do to improve it, rather than wanting others to change what they would be doing.  And just as a side note, I do appreciate that some of the Dalai Lama's helpers were named after the fourteenth Dalai Lama, it added some real life relevance.

While this story is about a cat, HHC, it is so much more than that.  I learned more about Buddhist beliefs than from anything else I've ever read (which is admittedly not that much), but it was such an approachable way of learning that I really enjoyed it.  Each point was made with a story and what a person was doing to improve their lives rather than just giving the lessons by rote.  And it made it easier to remember.  I did enjoy the snippets about HHC though and how she too tried to learn.  While being just your ordinary cat that loves food and has an insatiable curiosity, she just had a spark that made her very special and very capable of being the cat of the Dalai Lama.  Indeed, if the Dalai Lama were to possess a cat, I'd imagine it to be very like HHC.  AS you would suspect there is some mention of Buddhism in this book (and I've already mentioned it myself) if you don't enjoy reading about other ways of belief than your own, this is probably not a book you'd enjoy.  But if you're curious about Buddhism and just like a good story, this is probably a good choice.

I definitely found the book an enjoyable read and will probably look at other books by this author.  He has an approachable reading style and a way of imparting knowledge without forcing it down your throat.  I very much liked The Dalai Lama's Cat.

The Dalai Lama's Cat
Copyright 2012
216 pages

A Galaxy of Immortal Women by Brian Griffith

**This book was received as a free advanced reader's copy**

I'm fascinated with Chinese culture and with Women studies.  So a book that combined the both of them was right up my alley.  And this book was truly interesting.  Coming from an author who himself says he's not sure he's qualified to write this kind of book, I appreciated his honesty and his want to learn more about the culture; it's like he tried to really talk to the women of China and understand what they were saying.  And I think that even furthered the enjoyment of the book a little more for me.  This book not only details some of the history of China, but it also explores its religions, and its outlook on women.

All kinds of topics are explored in this book.  Confucianism, Daoist, Goddess religions.  They're all here and women's impact on them are explored as well.  It also offers a very broad history of China and its rulers, mainly focusing on the aspects religion played upon the different rulers, and how each ruling society treated women and their place in the household or government at large.  Several small stories, such as legends about different figures considered to be raised to goddess-hood are included in the book.  And a particular favorite of mine was the short story of the two lovers, separated in the stars by an overbearing father.  These little gems of stories helped explain the people's thought processes through time and their secret hopes for what they wanted with their lives.  There were also topics considering the Partnerships formed between women and men, family values as considered by different ruling regimes and even a glossary was included to list the Goddesses and other religious beings.  There was also a great deal of sources listed and an index.

There were many people mentioned in this book.  Some real, some not, but they were all treated with the same courtesy.  I was actually a little amazed at how non-judgmental this book seemed to me.  Different figures were presented factually without a lot of bias thrown against them.  The author was just doing that, stating facts, rather than going on long tirades against different decisions and political aspects.  I did like the mentions of the different goddesses (the outhouse goddesses were especially interesting).  Each had their own unique story and something different that they represented and some of them were even real people at some point so it was interesting to see what qualified someone to become a religious figure.  Since this book is mainly about women, the men may be described a little overbearing, but it wasn't done accusingly at least.

I liked all of the different topics this book covered.  In fact, my only complaint is that I had a hard time keeping track of the timeline in this book as it bounced around a bit.  There were some charts in front to help with that, but I would have liked for a little more of a straight timeline to keep things in line in my head.  But other than that it was a very easy to read book considering the it covered a lot of big topics.  The language was clear and precise and not hard to understand despite it being an educational sort of book and I can see most people picking it up and enjoying it.  Although it is more geared towards women, I can see men interested in history, China, or religion enjoying this book quite a bit.  It does offer a different view of China than what one normally expects.  And although I don't know enough about China or its history and religions to comment on the authenticity of this book, it seemed exceptionally well researched and the large index bears witness that some research was actually done, so I'm satisfied with that.

A different look at China and its religion; a good non-fiction to pick up if you're interested in the country.

A Galaxy of Immortal Women
Copyright 2012
281 pages

Daddy Come and Get Me by Gil Michelini

**This book was received as a free advanced reader's copy**

Due to events that have happened in my life, I have decided that should I ever have children, they will more than likely be adopted. I just don't see how I could love a biological child any more than an adopted one, and it seems like a good fit for my life. So reading this book is a preparation of sorts for that.

Daddy Come and Get Me details author Gil Michelini and his wife's journey through international adoption. In this case, they decide to adopt from Guatemala, a choice that was made because of both of their religious beliefs. But it's not going to be easy, most adoptions never are. With governmental red tape, mothers who change their mind, and disapproving family, it was a hard road they took in order to be able to adopt their fourth daughter Gemma. Parallel to this story of their adoption is the fictionalized version of Gemma's biological mother. Michelini gives a plausible story on who she was and why she gave her daughter up for adoption. The conclusion of the story has Gemma uniting with her new family and spending a little time with them. Although I would have liked to have seen a bit more of her adjustment to life with the Michelini family, the main story is largely the process of her adoption.

Michelini tells the story pretty straight-forward. He doesn't skimp when it comes to describing the people involved and he doesn't soften any blows either. In fact, I've seen it said where others would like to hear his wife's side of the story, and in the back of the book he even states that it is her story to tell, not his, but I can see why people would think that. This book is almost harsh when it comes to describing her, at the very least I can call it unflattering. It sounds as if she was having a very rough time and maybe pushed a little further than what she was comfortable with and the author kind of steam rolled her. But at least it seems to have worked out in the end. I also wish that Michelini had spent more time describing some of his other daughters. It almost seems like they fell by the wayside during the story and they're even referred to as "bios" which for some reason to me just read as being more derogatory than description. But that is only my impression. He spends a great deal of time on Gemma (after all this is her story) and her mother and I think they are both wrote very realistically and with compassion.

This book had the potential to be very boring and dry because it involved a lot of procedure and adoption rules and technical stuff. But it wasn't. Since Michelini brought emotions to it it became a journey of sorts and it definitely describes the process of adoption quite well. Surprisingly this turned out to be a religious type of book as well. I actually hadn't expected that, and not being religious myself my initial feeling was "here we go" but it is done in a cohesive way with the family. There isn't preaching, rather it's him relating what he was experiencing and felt during the adoption process in relation to his religion. And even his wife showed quite a bit of faith despite not enjoying the process so it showed her strength as well.

A good book for anyone considering adoption. If the picture on the cover doesn't tear you up the story will probably do it. I definitely had a hard time putting it down and found it very informative.

Daddy, Come & Get Me
Copyright 2011
337 pages

My Mormon Life by James Sanbourne

This book was received as a free Advanced Reader's Copy***

I've been greatly interested in many of the books on the FLDS, which some would argue is not actually Mormon, but to my belief, they are very similar. This book, while not FLDS, is still the tale of a boy raised in the Mormon belief, and questions it. I liked several aspects of the book, but there were a few things that I would have preferred to see differently.

James Sanbourne was born into a Mormon household, and while he isn't considered a Mormon until he is old enough to make the choice of baptism, it is all he knows. He's grown up with the stories from the bible and the Book of Mormon and they are greatly encouraged while other books, like comic books, are discouraged. An inquisitive child, his belief doesn't really waver, but he has tons of questions about the Mormon faith and some of its trickier laws and beliefs. As he grows up, an abusive mother, and uncaring father make life even more difficult. They move quite frequently and nothing ever seems to be stable in Sanbourne's life. So its no surprise when he starts running away and disobeying the Mormon laws. His community believes he is headed down the right path, and even law officials make it difficult for him to escape his family, but he continues to question his faith. Even if it does mean potential lockup and misery for him.

Sanbourne is very realistic when he describes himself and his family. He doesn't pull punches when he describes his mother especially. And she seems like a very sad, pitiful woman who possibly has some mental issues. I can't imagine how tough it would have been to grow up in a household like that, especially since his father was distant at best too. He had some siblings, but there's not too much mention of them in this book. Since it is about his life, the main "character" is Sanbourne himself, and he takes a lot of time to describe how he felt growing up and why he did the things he did. It helps to create a honest and realistic experience for the reader. I do have to say, I would have liked to hear about how his siblings reacted to what he did or what their beliefs were growing up in the same household, it would have provided some nice contrast. But no one ever experiences the same things even if circumstances are the same.

The book moved fast, very fast. I actually would have appreciated a lot more detail on some of the different aspects of Mormon life and belief. For example, the magic underwear. We are given glimpses of this practice but not enough to provide a true understanding. It only teased actually. The author's issues with racism in the faith though, was actually well described. That's the level I would have liked to see with the other topics in the subtitle (A Boy's Struggle with Polygamy, Magic Underwear, and Racism). The tone of the novel is actually very young sounding. It made reading about the author's childhood very believable since it seemed to be told in that tone. But to that note, like a young person when excited, it could ramble sometimes. Like a stream of thought that just had to be let out. For those not familiar with Mormonism or actually the Bible in general there is a lot of base description of certain stories from the bible. Depending on your audience, this could be a good or bad thing. In a predominantly Christian country, such as the US, the detail in this area might not be as important as added detail specific to the Mormon faith would be.

Because this book is heavily focused on religion, it has the potential to offend. But I don't think Sanbourne actually intends to offend anyone, its just inevitable when someone talks about religion. So reader, you have been warned, come to this book with an acceptance of another person's experience with their faith. There also is a lot of talk about racism, but it is clear the author is against racism and that it factored a lot in his decision regarding religion.

I liked the book, but I thought it could have been paced better and the description focused on different things than it did. As a self publisher, Sanbourne has done a good job though and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Mormon religion.

My Mormon Life
Copyright 2011
219 pages

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron

With everything that's happened in my life this year, my mom found this book and thought it would be a good read for me. And indeed, the title was very very fitting, however, actually applying what is in this book could prove to be very difficult.

Pema Chodron is an American Buddhist and as such, this book is mainly about Buddhism and its practices. And maybe its just because I know barely anything about Buddhism, but I found this to be a very high level book. She talks about using dharmas, loneliness, meditation and other ways of looking at the world. The prevailing theme is that things that make us uncomfortable should be examined instead of ignored. We shouldn't be scared of loneliness, despair, and loss but rather should examine them and accept them. She offers tips for how to do this and shares stories about the ways other people have found to live this way. And she odes warn that it is a struggle.

As said before I found this book to be very high level. In fact, I really didn't understand most of what she was talking about. Which I wasn't prepared for from the cover and the back cover description. It seemed like something that would be more for everyone. But I would highly recommend someone knowing a little something about Buddhism and its terms before reading this book. Otherwise, they may be just as lost as I was. That's not to say I didn't understand everything though. There were a few passages that spoke to me and that I could relate to. In particular, she talks about how we as humans build sandcastles and guard them jealously, even though in the end we know they'll be swept away by the sea and we're ok with that. She says that kind of nonattachment is healthy and something we should strive for. And that makes sense.

I also was quite fond of a quote found in there. "Honesty without kindness, humor, and goodheartedness can be just mean." This really spoke to me because in my last relationship, all the nasty things that were said to me by him were excused by him as just being "brutally honest." But is it good to be honest when the only outcome is to hurt someone? I don't think so, and I like Chodron's theory that honesty involves incorporating kindness as well. It is not noble to always tell the truth with no thought of the consequences. I'm in no way advocating lying, but there is a way to tell the truth with compassion. And one person's truth is not always anothers.

Definitely not the book I thought it was going to be, and I think if I had been educated further on Buddhism I would have enjoyed it a lot more. As such, there was just too much that was really only geared towards practitioners of Buddhism and hard to understand for the rest of us. But there are some valuable lessons to take away from this book even without that knowledge.

When Things Fall Apart
Copyright 1997
146 pages

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

I thought this was kind of a strange book. I can't say I didn't like it, but nor can I say I liked it. It was just one of those reads where I thought about it for a moment, and was then ready to move on to the next book.

While just a young boy, Antonio's family takes in Ultima, a respected healer in the community who also helped deliver Antonio. She knows he's special, but his parents have differing plans for him. His mother would like him to be a priest, and his father wants him to roam with him. Antonio isn't sure what he wants, he knows he admires Ultima and he has a deep belief in God, but there are just so many questions that he would like to have answers to. And there are so many bad things happening in his community that the questions just keep coming.

These people just didn't seem like regular people to me. Maybe it was just a difference in culture, but somehow I don't think so. The little boys were just heathens and acted like wild animals. Now I know little kids have lots of energy but it was extreme. And the main character, Antonio, I just didn't feel a connection with at all, he was a little strange. I think about the only character I did end up liking was Ultima and that's just because she was a strong woman character.

The plot was a little out there for me with everyone accusing people of different things and taking on some vigilante justice. Since they had cars and highways I figured it wasn't too far back in the past so it just didn't seem like things that could actually happen. And the plot just kind of meandered around without a set purpose. It just followed Antonio while he asked questions. There was some violence and death in the book but there wasn't anything that could be considered directly offensive. And it was a quick read if nothing else. Oh, I should make note that it helps to know spanish for this book, there's a lot in here that isn't translated.

Just not to my taste at all and maybe there was something I missed. I just couldn't get into this book.

Bless Me, Ultima
Copyright 1972
277 pages

Sati by Christopher Pike

This was a very interesting book. I actually didn't know anything about the book going into it so I was very surprised by the topic matter. This is a book about religion, sorta.

Michael is doing a run home in his truck when he spots a hitchhiker along the road. A very pretty girl with blonde hair becomes his passenger back to Los Angeles, and surprisingly enough, a guest in his apartment. But then she declares that she is god and sets about to prove it, not by performing any miracles or healing people, but by just talking to them and trying to guide them to seeing her "true" self. And things go from there with more and more people coming to see her just to see the special aura she gives off and decide for themselves if she is real.

Sati herself isn't really spectacular. But her words are. She's kind of just like she describes herself, a vessel. And I think Pike wrote her very well in this capacity. Michael I liked. He was charming in a way and while he had his flaws he did what he thought was right and actually was very pleasant. There were other characters of first, but I didn't really feel any attachment to them. They were just a wide variety of people who wanted to hear Sati's words.

I'm not a religious person at all, but if there was a god, I'd like to believe that that God would be like Sati. I liked the way Pike wrote about the beliefs and what I'm imagining his vision is of God. Its a very encouraging view. Not always pleasant, but encouraging. And there is something very peaceful about reading this book. At the very least it made me want to take up meditation. I was actually surprised to find out this was considered a young adult book. Not that young adults can't handle deep themes but this one had some very philosophical deep themes. Those who take a more rigid view of religion may not care for this book though. Honestly my only complaint would be that the pace drug at times.

This book intrigued me and I enjoyed reading it. I've not read any of Pike's other works but I think that if its symbolic of his writing style I'll probably give some of his other books a try too.

Sati
Copyright 1990
247 pages

Fathermothergod: My Journey Out of Christian Science by Lucia Greenhouse

**This review is part of the Amazon Vine Program**

I've been reading a lot about different religions although I focused heavily on the FLDS and decided that this memoir about Christian Science sounded interesting. This wasn't really the "escape" novel I expected, but I guess that could be explained away by the fact that its a choice to enter the religion, unlike the FLDS.

Lucia Greenhouse is one of three children raised in a Christian Science household. For the large part, their lives are normal. Normal clothes, normal events, normal food, and normal house. Where it goes drastically different is the belief that the human body has been made perfect and we only have to realize it in order to be healthy. Sickness is not real and as a result, many Christian Science members don't seek help until the very end when it is too late (there is my bias speaking, but that's how I view it). They also don't really celebrate birthdays and have many prayers that they do for different occasions. As Lucia grows up she realizes that her religion doesn't seem right, and when her mother grows ill this further reinforces that something is wrong in her mind. She visits her family's struggle with the illness and the pain of being able to do nothing.

Despite her reservations on what her parents are doing a lot of times, Lucia presents her family kindly. She has a lot of problems with them, but she doesn't make them out to be complete monsters. Her father is painted the darkest, but she even throws in some redeeming qualities for him once in awhile. Her sister and brother she seems to like, although they didn't get a lot of book time. Her mother you can tell she's definitely attached to, and the pain of being unable to reason with her is very clearly expressed within this book.

To be honest, while some of the aspects of this book was interesting, I actually found it kind of boring. There was a lot of information repeated and the main focus was on her helplessness in face of her mom's illness. She also spent a lot of time bounding around in her earlier life growing up, but for all that was said, I didn't feel like there was a lot of detail. I would have also loved to see more detail on Christian Science as I didn't know that much about it starting out. There's a little detail in there, and I know this is a memoir, but I think people can relate better if they are given a sufficient amount of background. The writing is clear though, and the author is very good at expressing emotion through her words. You could feel her pain regarding her family, and her disappointment, as you read.

This book didn't really make me want to go out and keep reading about Christian Science, but it was an interesting read. As a memoir, it was so-so.

Fathermothergod
Copyright 2011
300 pages

Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall

Wow, this had to be one of the sadder books I've read on the subject of polygamy and forced marriage within the FLDS community. And that's saying a lot because they are all heartbreaking. Elissa Wall, with the help of Lisa Pulitzer tells her story in a clear concise manner, and it is absolutely devastating.

Wall grew up in a polygamous family and her mother had come from another one. From the beginning there was strife amongst the wives and this made family life very hard for all the children who were a part of it. With the addition of a third wife to their family, it was even tougher. Unfortunately she was only in this situation for fourteen years before going to a worse one. Shortly after her family had been removed from her father, they were placed with another family and her mother became his wife. Uncle Fred, the new husband had big plans for Elissa. These plans involved her marrying her first cousin, one whom had always been cruel and she despised, within a very short time of her turning fourteen. She appealed to Warren Jeffs, the ear of the prophet at that time and was told it was something she had to do or she would have to leave her family and the community; which at fourteen was impossible to do.

Resigned to her fate she married against her will and entered a life of rape, abuse, and hardship. Although it may not seem so lucky then, she was actually quite lucky she never carried a child to term with this man as she may never have escaped. Despite this, it was still heartbreaking that she had to go through so much anyway. Gradually, as she aged she grew stronger and met someone she could truly fall in love with, she broke free of her ties to the community and escaped the horrible life the FLDS had given her. The rest of the book details with her participation in the trial against Warren Jeffs in which she was the star witness.

What Elissa had to go through was simply horrific and its amazing she turned out as normal as she did. She went through so much hardship but came out on the other side positive and wanting the best from life and that is truly inspiring. While its a shame with recent events that she may have to testify again, just from reading the book I can see that she'll make it through with flying colors.

The only thing I would find not so inspiring about this book is the writing. At times it feels like Wall is talking about someone else instead of herself (i.e. when talking about her brother uses the term "his" brothers instead of "our" brothers did something for him) which could be attributed to Pulitzer helping her with the writing, but made it confusing at times. There were also several typos and grammar problems but I attributed this to Wall having wrote it and not receiving a full education. However, even though these things are mildly distracting, they do not take away from the meaning of the book which is why I still rate it so highly. This is more just a warning for those who cannot abide such things in a book. Also to note that the book does have some graphic descriptions of the rape of Elissa and may not be appropriate for younger readers.

The more I read on this subject the more I wonder why its not in the news more often than it has been or looked into further. With all these books out one would think that more activity and outside police forces would be sent in to prevent things like this from happening instead of leaving it to FLDS members to make up the entire police force in some of these cities. It just doesn't seem logical. However, I think Wall has done an excellent job of bringing everything to light and also acting on trying to stop these atrocities from happening. With people like her in the world, maybe some of these problems can be fixed.

This is definitely a good book to read if you are interested in the subject. It is a sad book though even if it has a happy ending and can be quite upseting at times. But through it all Wall emerges a strong and encouraging person and I enjoyed reading her story.

Stolen Innocence
Copyright 2008
431 pages

Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer

Having already read "His Favorite Wife" I was much surprised to find out that this book was written by a sister-wife of "His Favorite Wife"'s author. Eagerly, I set into it to find a different perspective of the same family. And like the others, I found it immensely heart breaking.

Irene starts the tale of her life as a small girl growing up in a polygamous family. Coming from four generations of polygamy, the doctrines are all she knows of life. When her mother leaves her father and becomes married to an abusive man, she escapes to her Aunt's polygamous family and in doing so meets the charming Verlan LeBaron. While she has a love at home, but sadly only one that would turn into monogamous for he and give her no hope of being "exalted" she turns to him thinking it would be better for her future.

In a secret wedding, she becomes his second wife. Only then does she realize the heartache she's gotten herself into. She has to compete with his first and to her mind, favorite wife who is also her half sister. Throughout the years she has thirteen children with Verlan and also sees the addition of 8 more wives to his family. Each one breaks her heart and she wants some time with him. Throughout these years she is forced to move a number of times and must make do with many hardships and living in poverty.

Surprisingly there's not much in there about her sister-wife Susan who was the author of the aforementioned book but Irene does say that she thought of her fondly and held no grievances towards her. It was interesting to see the difference between the two books because in Susan's book she made Irene out to be happy and cheerful and loving, while in this book it was clearly shown that she was always miserable. Irene had a sense of humor though and to my opinion that had to have helped keep her going despite everything.

Such a sad book but it was nice to see that she was finally able to leave and found love and someone who deserved her. I was shocked to find out how large her family has grown. With thirteen children she now has 118 grandchildren and 37 great grandchildren. That's a whole lot of family!

After reading so much about polygamous families and thier lives I find it so unbelievable that more is not done to help those that want out. I know there are several groups that have been formed but it seems like in Utah, Mexico, and other areas that there is not much accountability for the despair these people live. Hopefully as more books like these come out there will be more women who are able to escape this life.

Having wrote the book herself, I would have to say Irene did a marvelous job. She tells her story clearly and concisely and even manages to put a bit of humor in such a sad story. I strongly recommend reading this book just for the value of learning.

Shattered Dreams
Copyright 2007
385 pages
Also includes a good portion of photos in the middle.

His Favorite Wife by Susan Ray Schmidt

*Possible spoilers, but this is non-fiction.*

This was an interesting book. It offered a very different perspective from the other books on polygamy that I'd read.

Susan is a young girl growing up in a polygamous community in Mexico. She is very treasured by her family and when she as a dream at fourteen that reveals to her the identity of her future husband, it is readily accepted by all. So much in fact, that she marries him a year later. The man is Varlan, the brother of the prophet of their sect. He already has five wives, but so charms Susan that she believes it is God's will that she marry him. His brother tries to get her for himself but she eventually sees how insidious he really is and goes with Verlan instead.

The rest of the book deals with her hardships of being a multiple wife and just her struggles in living as well. Verlan is not able to properly care for his large family and often the family lacks food, decent lodging, and good clothes. Not helping this is the fact that a couple babies are born every year adding to the mouths to feed. Susan herself goes on to have 5 before she even reaches her mid-twenties.

This book had an interesting perspective because for the majority of the time Susan liked her religion and being a polygamous wife. Sure she didn't like sharing all the time but when it came down to it she did believe in the lifestyle. It wasn't until a bit later when she had had several kids already that she started to become disillusioned. A lot of that too I think stemmed from the hardships she was living and the poverty.

There is one thing that I kind of wondered about though. The subtitle of the book is Trapped in Polygamy, but really, compared to some of the other stories I've read, Susan was able to get out very easy once she made up her mind to do it. She was delayed by pregnancy a couple times but when she truly wanted out, there were no death threats, no trouble with local law, her husband finally accepted. It was a lot different than some of the women who have tried to escape those types of relationships in the United States. I'm not downplaying her struggles, but it amazes me that being in a different country even it still wasn't that hard for her to get out.

The book does end on a good note with her leaving. She also thoughtfully includes a chapter that lets us know where the rest of the sect is and how they ended up. It is interesting to note that a lot of Verlan's wives ended up leaving. Once again, a fascinating subject and I'm sure I'll be hitting the books to find out more on the topic.

His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy
Copyright 2006
418 pages plus a photo album

God's Brothel by Andrea Moore-Emmett

Sometimes it is just amazing what humans can do to each other. Especially those atrocities done in the name of religion in this case. Moore-Emmett is not unfamiliar to polygamy. Growing up in a Mormon household there always flirted the disaster of a polygamous marriage for her. Luckily, she was able to get out of it and has spent a good portion of her life helping Mormon women escape polygamy and running programs to help them in the transition. This book is about her telling some of their stories.

The first part of this book goes through some of the history and beliefs of the polygamous sects. While she does include some Christian polygamist groups the majority of this book deals with those who associate themselves as Mormon.

The next and largest part of the book is the stories of women who have escaped. Eighteen women are interviewed and while they come from mostly different sects, their stories are hauntingly familiar. Abuse, sexual abuse, child marriage, abandonment, starvation, and other atrocities are just some of the recurring themes. Sometimes these women even had to leave their children behind as Utah has some government and local police officials who are polygamists as well and make it hard for them to escape with their families intact. There are also the threats of death and blood atonement as well for these ladies.

However, as horrible as their stories are they do give hope that people are trying to change what is happening. Abuse isn't being swept under the rug in the guise of "religious freedom" in some cases and groups are working to further laws to protect these children and women. While many of the women will carry guilt and problems to work through for the rest of their lives, they breathe a little easier knowing they have freed themselves from a worse fate.

I did find interesting that some of these women weren't even Mormon to begin with but fell in with the religion because of the falsities and allure of being accepted presented. It shows what harm low self esteem can do to a person that they would allow themselves to become second class citizens or chattal. But the stories of the women that did that in this book do end on a happy note of them leaving these disastorous relationships.

This is certainly a book that will shock and I think its important that these stories be told. No one should be degraded like this or treated with such abuse. No one should have to watch their children be abused in the name of god. Even if it is only writing a book, Moore-Emmett is helping to make these voices heard.

Moore-Emmett does a wonderful job of putting together these stories. While her writing can get a bit redundant with tons of names of associated polygamists thrown in and groups listed, the majority of her work is easy to read. She also has spent a lot of time researching and thoughtfully includes those citations as well.

My only complaint on this book was that for the most part it didn't really describe the reality of escaping from the sects. From reading other books on the subject I know it isn't easy. However, in most of these stories it almost seemed as if they got up and left when they felt like it. I'm sure this isn't the case so I would have liked to learn more about that aspect.

This book definitely made me feel sick at times but opened my eyes to whats out there. I will be doing more research on the subject I am sure.

God's Brothel
Copyright 2004
219 pages
Also includes a dictionary and reader's guide.

Escape by Carolyn Jessop

This was an extremely well written story of this remarkable woman's life. I never knew much about the Mormons or this more extreme branch. The author brought me into her world and let me experience a culture and religion very different from my own.

She starts out describing when she was a young child living with her parents. While some of what she described seemed extreme to me ,it was nothing like what was to come. From her unbelievable marriage, to the things her husband put her through, I kept expecting to get to the end of the book and discover it was fiction. It was so foreign to everything I've experienced its hard to believe its true.

Her triumph through adversity is very inspiring and hopefully made some change in those states who choose to ignore the abuse without full investigation. I hope it also inspired those who wished to leave as well.

This book also offered some background into Warren Jeffs as well who became very well known through the news. It showed yet another side of a man I can barely understand.

Before you read this book please prepare yourself to cry, cheer, and experience an entire range of emotions. You can go from one page to the next feeling angry and joyful all at the same time.

Escape
Copyright 2008
448 pages