This memoir is so interesting and well-written that it was hard to put down. I lost sleep reading it, then finished the final chapters sitting in an airport and not caring that fellow passengers saw my tears. Such despair and deprivation, such resiliency and growth, such promise and hope -- I think if I say more than that, I'll enter "spoilers" territory. If you like memoirs in general and/or are intrigued by this subject matter, then make haste to buy it; I don't think you'll be disappointed. It will give you "all the feels."

I received an Advance Reader copy from Tyndale Momentum in exchange for my honest review.

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Anna LeBaron is the daughter of Ervil LeBaron, the self-proclaimed "prophet" of a radical Mormon cult.

Here she tells what it was like to grow up in a polygamous family who was on the run from the FBI. (Though she didn't realize it until she was much older, several of her family members were wanted for murder.)

This was a really interesting account, as LeBaron faced abandonment, poverty, hunger, and abuse as a child, and the deaths (murders) of family members as a young adult. She managed to leave the sect at thirteen, when she moved in with her sister and brother-in-law; however, she still had contact with several family members during her teenage years.

While some other reviewers were disappointed in the non-emotional telling of most of the story, I appreciated this aspect. LeBaron mentions that she compartmentalized her feelings for most of her life (until she finally worked through them during counseling) and I felt that this writing style more precisely portrayed what she was thinking and feeling (or not feeling) while experiencing these events.

The strongest part of the book is definitely where she relayed her childhood. The last quarter or so of the book talks about her grieving process and counseling and while some of that is a necessary part of the story, I felt this could have been better condensed.

All in all, if you're interested in polygamy, cults, or poverty, this is a worthwhile read!

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

An incredibly moving and heartbreaking life story. ( )

Heartbreaking story of a child who really should have had better from her parents. People that take advantage of others naivety to manipulate and control them (her father) and people who put falsely religious manipulators above their own children should never be allowed to have children in the first place. Despite her horrendous upbringing Anna seems to have been able to rise above and make a better future for herself and her own children. ( )

A quick read about a Mormon polygamist cultees escape. ( )