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Loading... Escapeby Carolyn JessopLibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendationsLoading...
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Florinda | Jun 18, 2009 |   I first heard about Mormon fundamentalism when I read the eye-opening (and horrifying) non-fiction book Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer. I have since read and reviewed the novel The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff and I’m a big fan of the TV series Big Love. So I figured it was about time I read a book written by someone who grew up in a fundamentalist Mormon community. Escape is the autobiography of a woman who was a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), one of the largest Mormon fundamentalist denominations. At the age of 18, Jessop was forced to marry a 50-year-old man (Merrill Jessop, who is now the de facto leader of the FLDS), with whom she would have eight children over the next 15 years. In 2003, she fled her community with all her children, including a disabled toddler, and was the first woman ever granted full custody of her children in a suit involving the FLDS. Carolyn’s story is shocking. Abuse, violence and neglect are common occurrences in her community. Once Warren Jeffs takes over as prophet, things get even worse, and some of the stories she relates are really hard to read. Unfortunately, the writing in this book could have done with more editing. At least twice I had to go back to see if I’d missed something because the storyline was confusing. For example, one minute Jessop’s sister-wife Cathleen was her only ally among her husband’s wives and the next minute she’d grown closer to Tammy than any of the others, without any explanation for this shift. Despite this, I would still recommend this book. It’s not a literary masterpiece, but it is an amazing story told by a courageous woman who “chose freedom over fear” and won. Also reviewed on my blog, she reads and reads. (  )avisannschild | May 29, 2009 | fascinating account of a woman who escaped Warren Jeffs' polygamist cult with her 8 children. Amazing and horrifying that this occurs in present day america mochap | May 25, 2009 | This woman's story is absolutely incredible! Every woman in the world should read Carolyn Jessop's story. It is difficult to believe that there could be a population in the United States in 2009 that would allow women, children, and animals to be treated this way - let alone all in the name of God!! Carolyn Jessop is a heroine and a courageous leader among women. She makes me proud to be her sister! (  )rillapearlp | May 13, 2009 | Carolyn Jessop's recounting of her life as one of seven wives in a plural marriage in the radical Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is chilling. Her escape with her eight children in 2003 was harrowing, but her life until that point was unbelievably harsh, filled with abuse and deprivation, unrelenting humiliation and repression, not to mention physical, emotional, and mental abuse. Women in that culture are treated as possessions and servants, and are frequently taken from one husband and "assigned" to another on little provocation. It is not uncommon for leaders in the church to have as many as 50 wives and over a hundred children. Carolyn's story is bravely told and reveals a culture that I did not know existed in our midst. (  )jbleil | May 1, 2009 | 0.011 seconds to build listing
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0767927567, Hardcover)The dramatic first-person account of life inside an ultra-fundamentalist American religious sect, and one woman’s courageous flight to freedom with her eight children. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:56 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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n a recent guest post by Tracy Wolff for My Friend Amy, the author discussed the difference between 'writers' and 'storytellers.' I'm not sure I'd say Carolyn Jessop is a 'writer;' Escape is co-credited to Laura Palmer, and to me, it reads a lot like oral history. Some of the other reviews I've seen of the book have suggested that it could have used better editing; I'm not sure I agree, but there is some repetition and inconsistency throughout. I'm not sure Jessop is a 'storyteller' in a general sense either, but I believe the story she tells here - her own - is one that really matters. It's a rare inside view of a fringe culture that, under 'freedom of religion,' engages in a way of life that flouts the law and endangers the welfare of women and children while enriching a select few men, and perpetuating that culture by nurturing fear and cutting its believers off from information and input from the larger world around them. It's a world that's hard to wrap your head around if you've never lived that way, and it's unsettling to understand how it goes on today.
Escape is a book to be read for the content, not the writing - and I found the content absolutely riveting. It's enlightening, horrifying, suspenseful, and ultimately triumphant (not a spoiler - the title of the book is Escape, after all, so you know eventually it's going to happen). I can't say I loved it, but I do think it's an important story well worth reading. (