Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs Reviews

• Raped by a Hate-Group

  
  By A3MQ672FYFNM7B on 2008-06-10
  I read "Stolen Innocence" right after Escape and both were equally fascinating and equally riveting. But then I got to thinking. Which story is more catastrophic? I thought about this for a very long time because I couldn't really decide; each was such a vulgar and violent story of an FLDS bride. After second thought though I've come to the conclusion that "Stolen Innocence" is even more horrendous and hurtful (if you've read "Escape" then you'll know that this new book is truly tragic.)
  
  You know, in my life I've read about many ugly vulgarities. Sometimes I really think that humanity is dead and our fellow (wo)man doesn't care about each other. But the book "Stolen Innocence" is genuinely the most repugnant and vicious story that I've ever read. Because of that, the book was also one of the most fascinating and detailed autobiographies that I've read.
  
  Most of "Stolen Innocence" was all about the systematic and thought-out rape and sexual abuse of a minor. Ms. Elissa Wall was married off to a grown-man at the young age of only 14! The author describes how she begged everyone who would listen to at least give her "2 more years."
  
  Once she was married she was the repeated victim of severe rape and sexual abuse at the hands of her 20 year-old husband, who, by the way, was also her biological cousin. And, I have to ask, what kind of sorry excuse, what kind of waste of human life would do such a thing to a little girl? Even wild animals aren't this barbaric and cruel. In great detail the author also courageously details how she begged her husband not to rape her.
  
  However, Elissa was raped repeatedly because this cult, the FLDS, only considers girls their property! When Ms. Wall got the strength to speak to their "prophet," Warren Jeffs, this pig actually condoned what her husband did to her and even started blaming her! Can you believe that there is honestly a religion in the USA that would allow little girls to be married off and then forced into violent sexual abuse and raped, over and over again? It is disgusting and shocking and shameless, to say the very least. And I cannot believe this has gone on and continues to go on.
  
  Elissa taught me that her story in and of itself isn't exactly unique. Girls are forced into sexual assault all the time and their "church," the FLDS, even condone this and promote this! What is unique about the author is that she had the courage to get out of this sulfurous-pit and she had the conviction to report her abuse to the authorities.
  
  Like a prisoner sentenced to a life of hard-labor, Elissa tells how no one came to her rescue as she was trapped in this loveless marriage. No one. Not her mother, not her father, not her step-father. Nobody. Everyone was afraid of going against this Hltler-like tyrant, Warren Jeffs. Ms. Wall even states how he was like a god to them because this was all they were taught to believe. And that is probably what is fundamentally wrong with this cult. Because no one was ever allowed to think for themselves. Free-thought was not just frowned upon, it was reason enough to be expelled from this group. Thrown out like garbage. But why would anyone want to stay?
  
  Even after all of the rape and sexual abuse, cased by her husband and Warren Jeffs, Elissa was still terrified of leaving. These passages of the book were both very sad and disappointing. But I suppose it's human nature. If this is all someone knows from the time they're born how could you expect them to leave without any trepidation? After all, even a dog comes back to his master who beats him because that's all he knows.
  
  Finally, Elissa took to sleeping inside her truck at nights so she could avoid the violence that was sure to befall her inside her bedroom. The author thoughtfully details how her little truck wasn't at all comfortable, however she knew it was better than the complete and total hell she was sure to face if her rapist husband got a hold of her. This actually went on for months, too. Of course this isn't normalcy, but what do you expect a young girl to do who otherwise has zero options and is being victimized fairly regularly? As far as I'm concerned she coped way better than I could have. Most would have probably shot the S.O.B. between the eyes and went to jail happy, knowing that the world would be a better place with one less child-rapist.
  
  Like "Escape," "Stolen Innocence" also recounts how the FLDS ruled every single aspect of the lives of everyone involved in this cult. The "church" owns the homes and land where each family lived and dictated what everyone had to wear and read. The cult even set up marriages. In fact, Elissa details how the cult was the only way someone could "experience salvation." The cult also had the power to tear apparent entire families. Pit son against father and mother against baby. Why? It was a way for these masochists to say: I am in Control. Elissa and all of the members of this cult were nothing more than slaves. But that doesn't excuse or condone what her rapist did to her in the least.
  
  I also learned more about this cult, the FLDS. Elissa wrote about why it was "so important" for her to get married. One of the main tenants of this cult is to procreate and have as much children as possible. Of course it goes without saying that sexual education, contraception, abortion, even prenatal care and anything else that involved free-thinking and common sense (and intelligence) are totally off-limits.
  
  Elissa even has the inner-strength to write about how she became pregnant multiple times as a result of her serial-rapist husband, Allen. I've always been raised to believe that the birth of a baby was a blessing. But how could anyone think that the rape of an underage teenager, by her adult cousin was a blessing? With zero prenatal care, this young child miscarried each time. You wanna know what the real "blessing" is? That's the blessing! Could you imagine bringing a baby into a world like that? A child should be brought into a world of love and acceptance, not fear and violence and shame. Perhaps this was the only circumstance (which was more or less by chance) which proved to be compassionate to Elissa.
  
  Ms. Wall also explains with great triumph how she found real love and how, over time, she got away. Some of this portion of the book was very bittersweet and heartbreaking, though. Because Elissa was vilified by her soon-to-be-former cult. Elissa's rapist husband went running to Warren Jeffs when he couldn't control her any longer. Can you believe that Warren Jeffs actually blamed her again and even said that she should sacrifice her body (a human sacrifice?) Because of so much real d egradation and oppression, the truth inside this book really is stranger than fiction.
  
  When Elissa writes about how she finally got away I was afraid for her safety because during these sections of the book it was the most suspenseful. But she found a way out of this hell. And she kept her sanity, too. Frankly, this would be enough to drive just about anyone crazy. But Elissa was so strong. Of course her brainwashed mother disowned her. It's so sad that her mother would side with the ones who raped her daughter, but I suppose that is common in this cult that rips apart families. And, Elissa was never bitter! She never used any negative words to describe any of the people who were the cruelest to her (Oh, I could think of a few.) She is wise beyond her years and such a compassionate person.
  
  I can't recommend this book enough. If you're interested in women's issues, human rights issues or just books that describe adversity then "Stolen Innocence" is for you. BTW, this book also includes many never-before-published photos of life inside the FLDS. There are many color pictures inside the book and even some recent ones of Elissa and her current husband, her first Real Husband and her 2 precious babies. I also enjoyed this book because it was also the story of great hope. Anyone with any sentiency will cry tears of sorrow and tears of joy as you read this chilling narration.
  
  What I also learned from this book is that the FLDS collectively raises their boys to be rapists, sexual deviants and sadists. And this same cult brings up the girls to be coconspirators, subservient wives and accepting victims. If that's not reason enough to take away all of these children and lock up their abusers then I'll never know what is. And, for the life of me, I don't understand why wasn't the FBI more involved with Elissa's case or with any of the recent cases involving this cult? It's not just a "domestic issue" and it's certainly not "religious prosecution." The rape of a child is a Federal Offense.
  
  According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (a not-for-profit organization,) as of 2005 they classified the FLDS as a "hate group." This is in part because of the cult's teachings that non-whites are "less than human." IMHO any hate group, even one that hides behind the guise of a "religion" must be stopped. Bigotry and lack of education are nothing more than poison and what this book taught me the most is that the FLDS is just as dangerous as any other "terrorist group" because of that very reason. Maybe more so, because we don't even know about it, fully. There's a saying that comes to mind, "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." I tend to disagree. As far as hate groups such as the FLDS are concerned, the greatest trick they ever pulled off was convincing their followers that the devil does exist.
  
  
  
  

• What a Book!!

  
  By A3R90OGE1EACZE on 2008-05-27
  Like Carolyn Jessop's book Escape Elissa Wall describes her life in the FLDS or Fundamentalist Church of Later Day Saints.
  
  Elissa spent much of her childhood with her parents, her 12 siblings and 10 step-siblings in Salt Lake City, Utah. When she was 9 however Warren Jeffs (the son of the prophet Rulon) had her father banished and her mother "given" to leader Fred Jessop. Elissa did not have an easy time because her step-sisters would make fun of her and her siblings. When she was 14 Fred told the family that three of the daughters of the home would be married soon. Elissa did not realize that she would be one of them and when she found out that she was to marry her 18 year old first cousin Allen Steed she was mad.
  
  During the time between the announcement that she was to be married and the marriage itself she tried to get Warren and Rulon Jeffs to change their minds and give her more time. They did not and at 14 she was married to Allen. Over the next 3 years she did her best to be a good wife, but Allen's abuse and sexual advances hurt her very deeply. She would spend much of her time living in her car or spending the night at her mothers house, so that she would not have to go home.
  
  One night when she was 17 she was going to a space that she used to sleep in her truck when her tires blow and she started to have a miscarriage. She was in the mud trying to change her tire when she met Lamont Barlow a fellow member of the FLDS. This meeting changed their lives. At first they were just friends, but shortly after he left the FLDS they became romantically involved and Elissa became pregnant.
  
  When Elissa was pregnant with her baby she left the FLDS and shortly afterwards was encouraged by her sisters who had also left the FLDS to file a suit against Allan, Warren Jeffs, and the FLDS which is detailed in the book.
  
  This is a very powerful, well written book.
  
  

• Disturbing and Eye Opening

  
  By A3BFDEBT5IV4UN on 2008-05-23
  Stolen Innocence - by Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer
  
  
  Ellissa Wall was brought up in the bosom of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints and at fourteen was forced to marry her older first cousin, and repeatedly raped throughout her 3 year marriage. This is Elissa's story. But it's also a glimpse into the workings of a way of life that many of us would find chilling, yet was perfectly normal for Elissa and her many siblings. We learn how plural marriages work (and at times may even work well for the people who have learned nothing else but this way of life) and how they shouldn't work, we learn how on the whim of one man, a Sister Mother and her children can be taken away; with no explanation, from her husband and given to another man deemed more worthy. We learn how one man used his so-called, influence with God, to force families to shun their own children, sell their business and properties, to live in fear. And, this is also the story of the rise and fall of that very influential, very manipulative man; a man named Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS.
  
  This is a heart breaking story of Elissa's struggle to be the perfect daughter, student, person. We see her struggles even at a very young age to "stay sweet", a common phrase used when you are shattering inside, but can't let it show - and what happens when someone finally breaks her spirit. This is also an example to all women that they can overcome, be brave and even learn to grow from the horrors they may have been forced to endure.
  
  One thing that disturbed me is that in this book, we never learn whether or not any of the women actually loved/love their husbands or if their husbands loved/love them and this lack begs the question - when one is never shown a loving relationship between man and wife, when spousal relationships are more like business deals, then how did Elissa know that she would never come to love her husband? I would have like to have seen this addressed.
  
  It's remarkable and repulsive to learn that practices such as this go on in our progressive country. These are things we think/pray only happen in third world countries.
  This is an excellent, timely, eye opening read and should be a 'must' read for anyone interested in issues involving women in our country during this century.
  
  

• Stolen Innocence, a must read!

  
  By AWL0HM9F2E0EX on 2008-05-18
  I couldn't put this book down. From the very beginning I was captivated by Elissa Wall's story of childhood lost and countless heartbreaks. She offers her readers an amazing "behind the scene" look at polygamy in the United States under Warren Jeffs and brings new light to the plight of the women and children still living within its confines. Elissa is a brave young lady and this book offers readers a unique opportunity to glimpse into the her life as a young girl in the FLDS.
  
  

• Could Not Put It Down

  
  By ADY8PXRD2AUEN on 2008-05-18
  I bought this book to read on a long flight but decided to take an advance "peak." I could not help myself - I just kept reading page after page until I finished it over the course of one afternoon! Melissa Wall tells her story in such an easy to read style, giving the reader a fascinating insider's tour of a completely different way of life. The book is respectful and dignified while it tells a shocking story of abuse and betrayal. The poignant description of a family's turmoil not only touches the heart but it also provokes deep thought. It raises questions of what is most important in life: struggles between faith and independent reasoning, tensions between family and church, between husbands and wives, between parents and children. This book is informative, entertaining, challenging, moving and disturbing. By revealing the intimate,inner experience of one girl's broken heart, it issues a powerful cry to all of us to protect and nurture children.
  Sarah Chana Radcliffe, author, "Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice"
  
  
• Couldn't put it down...
  By A3HIQMOPQPYGEV on 2008-05-25
  This book is a first person account of a stifling, controlling and sometimes horrifying and criminal community of Mormon fundamentalists.
  
  The Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints is rooted in fear of the "end of times", which always seems to be just around the bend. As we discover in the book, the "religion" or cult is very controlling of women, holding their salvation over their heads for ransom. This utter devotion by some of the women leaves many of the children who hit their teens and feel something is wrong - out in the cold, literally. My anger at Elissa's mother was raging at times. I wanted to shake her shoulders at times. I couldn't sacrafice my children to starvation, rape and other dangers just so I could be rewarded in the next life - and this women had FOURTEEN kids to mess up with - and she did with most of them, in my opinion. Elissa tried to take a forgiving Zen-like approach to the outrage anybody should feel towards her mother, but I am less forgiving I suppose.
  
  I bought this book on a Friday and finsihed by early Sunday afternoon. I couldn't put it down I was in such disbelief at the torments that Elissa faced and how boldy they objectified, controlled and used women. It's archaic to say the least. Elissa's inner moral compass kept telling her somthing was wrong and she should follow her heart, and she did. That's something we have in common.
  
  The co-author probably had a lot to do with how well written the book was since Elissa didn't get much of an education.
  
  You did get the distinct impression she was telling her side of the story and I was nearly cheering out loud that she finally had a voice.
  
  The author is also now helping others who want to escape this oppressive and controlling way of life.
  
  There were several editing errors - from a period in the middle of a sentence to the wrong tense and the wrong word, in the case of "peak" which should have been "peek" - I was actually surprised at the number of errors. In any other book I probably would have stopped reading at the fourth or so error in a non-fiction book. The material in this book was so compelling I couldn't stop reading it.
  
  
• Pruriently interesting
  By A7M9BM0YMK49S on 2008-05-27
  This was an interesting read. Giving outsiders or "Gentiles" an inside view of the very secretive FLDS. In light of the recent raid and surprising order to return the children to their parents in the sect, it is of interest and very informational. The books is obviously mostly ghost written and it's easy to differentiate the two voices of the authors. My main objection to the story is that at times the author tries very hard to prove her case as the wronged victim. She resorts at times to ridiculous childhood dramas. Her future husband let her fall in the snow when they were children, he called her names. These silly n incidents place her in more of a bad light than they do him. Overall, however, I recommend it just for the glimpse inside a sect that is able to totally control its members through fear.
  
  
• Fascinating and Anger-Inducing
  By A20TLFEVFSWTC7 on 2008-05-31
  This book was fascinating in a very emotional and anger-enducing way. I was horrified to learn more about how this cult lives, how the women are so inferior to the men, and the things they do all in the name of God.
  
  A few points I would like to make - we know she was forced to marry her cousin and that she was miserable in the marriage, and for that I felt very bad for her. But...after she decided to completely avoid him, after awhile she seemed to really bloom with empowerment and spent a lot of time doing what normal teens do (but FLDS teens weren't supposed to): going into town and hanging out with friends, buying CDs, drinking beer, going to the movies, dressing more normally, etc. etc. to the point where she was very rarely at home - sleeping in her truck, going to work, and she had many friends who were supportive and helped each other do FLDS-contraband things. So my question would be, why not try to escape? Even if the entire police department in her remote town was all FLDS, she obviously had the means to go into other towns apparently without getting into any trouble, so why not go up to someone NOT FLDS and say, "Hey, I need some help, I'm being raped". There are safe harbors everywhere for abused children and women. She could have looked in the Phone book? Yellow Pages? A hospital?
  She visited Canada, and even boarded a plane and had extended visits with defected relatives. Once she was there, couldn't they have helped her stay there? Could she have just stayed there? Why did she go back? Once physically out of the cult, it seems to me to be half the battle!
  
  I also found myself feeling somewhat bad for Allen. He really didn't seem like a bad guy, just misguided and brainwashed. He is a product of his society. He was following the "prophet's" orders to go and multiply, thinking it would get him into heaven. He really seemed to want the marriage to work and seemed confused that his (which is the "prophet's" way) wasn't working and pushing Elissa away even more. Also I was wondering why Lamont did not get charged with statutory rape as she was only 17 when she conceived their first child. He was 23. I'm not sure what the laws are in that state - but she WAS still a minor.
  
  I can't believe these parents and how they allow their children to enter a marriage, and without ANY knowledge or expectation of what sex entails!! Elissa's mother didn't protect her daughter and I find that inexcuseable as a mother myself. I hope her 2 little sisters are spared this fate.
  
  Warren Jeffs should rot in jail forever. This story is only one person's story. Imagine how many more are out there that do not have the guts to do what Elissa did? I might not agree with everyhting she did, (such as not trying harder to escape, etc.) I still realize that she was only 14 when this all started, and handled all of this in the best way she knew how.
  
  If ADULTS chose to live this lifestyle, so be it, but forcing 14 year olds to marry adult men is nothing short of criminal. They need to be old enough, mature enough, and exposed to enough different things to know if they want to chose this lifestyle for themselves, and certainly that doesn't happen by the ages they are marrying these young girls off.
  
  
  
• A Must Read for an understanding of the FLDS
  By AQAGHROW5XOXV on 2008-06-02
  For weeks now we have been treated to the whining of the "mothers" about the loss of their children in Eldorado, TX. In point of fact without DNA testing it will be impossible to determine who are the parents of a specific child. As Elissa points out the FLDS have been trained to lie, about everything, to outsiders. If you are a child in a polygamist home you have a caretaking mother that, in most instances, will not be your birth mother so when asked to identify their mother many children will err, or worse, lie.
  
  This book reads like a Stephen King horror story, well crafted and with characters that seem to come right out of fiction - only sadly, this is a true story. From Warren Jeffs - a person that I cannot believe anyone would follow - to Elissa's "husband" Allen to the current mouthpiece of the FLDS, Willy Jessop (who shows up in the story as well), the book breaks open the seal of silence about a group that way too little is known about.
  
  I have been writing about and been involved with exposing the FLDS in Colorado City/Hildale for over twelve years and making people understand that these are sad, pathetic, brainwashed woman and girls, forced to "marry" wife-beating, pedophiles is a difficult task.
  
  Mainstream Mormons claim no resposibility for this mess, but it has been the Mormon Church through the State of Utah that has allowed the practice of polygamy to continue unabated since the SHort Creek raid of 1953 and this bunch of pedophiles is now the result of looking the other way.
  
  Kudos to Elissa and her husband Lamont for having the courage to go to court and bring down the "prophet" Warren Jeffs.
  
  
• An Amazing Story
  By A394IGRF554XAF on 2008-05-29
  Elissa Wall is a brave woman. Despite all of the social programming she was subjected to, she somehow still managed to maintain her independent spirit. She managed to break free of the society that had forced her, as a very young girl, into marriage...and ultimately, she truly sets herself free by writing this memoir and sharing herself and her story with others.
  
  I began reading the book out of a sort of revolted fascination with the FLDS, but I soon got caught up on a much more personal level. It was an amazing read. I recommend it highly.
  
  
• "keep sweet" and carry a big stick on the FLDS stairway to heaven
  By A2E3GFHUDNPYDH on 2008-07-07
  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.
  
  
• WOW
  By A3LKWEAN6FUCR8 on 2008-05-31
  This is a page turner. Having lived in the west for many years there are rumors of Polygamist families here and there. Amazing to see into the world of one such group. This was more than a book about religion however. It is an excellent study about how absolute power can corrupt absolutly. It also illustrates the principal of forgivness and love. What Elisse endured and still endures to this day is horrendous. That she is able to encourage the reader to offer kindness to the polygamists that we see around town shows that her heart is in the right place and there is not an ounce of guile in her. Knowing a little about the culture I hope that she and her family are able to be safe. She has been very brave to come out with her story and get this menace out of society even for 10 years.
  
  
• Fascinating and scary
  By A2MIQZIXDG1B0S on 2008-07-02
  This book, like Carolyn Jessop's "Escape," was hard to put down. I found this book even more disturbing than Jessop's, however. It is amazing to me that people live this way in the United States in this day and age-unbelievable. This seems like something that should have been going on in a remote part of the world 200 years ago. Bravo to the people who question this so-called religion and have the courage to leave. It's a shame what the children of the FLDS have to deal with- and what their so-called parents allow them to suffer. The unwavering love Elissa Wall holds for her mother after all she has been through, without the support of her mother, is hard to comprehend. This book shows how truly gullible people can be, and how evil others are who prey on people under the guise and false "teachings" all based on religion and religious beliefs. Very scary. This book disturbed me and made me very sad at the same time. I congratulate Elissa Wall and her family members who got the heck out of there. Most of the adults of the FLDS should either be in prison, or in a psychological facilities. Out there doesn't even begin to describe them. Being gullible is no excuse for some of the things that are described. I feel sorry for those children and everyone who still believes that the FLDS is the way to live. It's nothing but a breeding ground for acceptable abuse of many kinds and levels. The women in particular need to get educated and open their eyes. They're being used and treated like pieces of meat and nothing more. Criminal.
  
  
• Stolen Innocence - the best former FLDS story so far...
  By A1ZE8GGL0QWVB0 on 2008-07-08
  This is the 4th book about polygamy I've read just since hearing all about the FLDS in the news recently. I have been fascinated by the stories and found it hard to believe that pologamy is still being practiced in 2008. I had no idea. Amazing.
  
  Of all 4 books I have read so far, I would have to rate this book #1 and definitely far, far better than "escape" by Carlolyn Jessop (whom also was from the FLDS group). I wasted my money on that book, and as a result, waited to get this one from the library as I didn't want to throw away my money again. In fact, I almost didn't read this one at all. But in the end, I was too curious not to read it. I'm glad I did. This book is much much better written and I didn't notice any contradictions in the book.
  
  This child of 14 had far more reasons to feel betrayed and upset. She was abused many times by her husband. I never really got the feeling anywhere in the book that she was trying to lay blame on everyone else, just her abuser and the men who helped him continue his abuse. In fact, several times she mentions how there are good people in this cult. This book seems to be much more honest. Even when there were fights in her family with the other Mothers in her growing up years, she was always able to see their side of the story and not totally lay the blame on them. Remarkable, especially for a child so young.
  
  Also, given the fact that she tried multiple times (by requesting meetings with the "prophet" and pleading her case to her Mother and Step-Father) to prevent and later to get out of her forced marriage, especially at the tender age of 14 spoke a great deal about her. If I had been in the same shoes, I know, at age 14, that I would not have had the courage to stand up to the "prophet" as she did. What she did was remarkable and proves she did all she could at that tender age to try somehow, someway to get out of that marriage.
  
  I agree with another reviewer that this book doesn't deal as much with pologamy as sexual abuse, however, she does give many details about her own family growing up with 3 Mothers. I think it was horrible how Warren Jeffs kept separating their Father from his family and just "gave" his wives and children to other men. That is outrageous.
  
  I read the book in one afternoon, I couldn't lay it down it was so interesting. And, thankfully, this book didn't leave me with the impression that she thought she was above everyone else in their cult, and she never tried to run the others down. In fact, my only impression when finishing the book was that I wanted to weep for her. I hope she and her current husband find continued healing and that somehow she can reunite with her Mother and sisters again.
  
  A cut above the other pologamy books I've read, and several notches above "Escape".
  
  Very good book. Well worth reading.
  
  
• Breaking Free
  By A3NJCDAWJD42BT on 2008-05-29
  STOLEN INNOCENCE is the third book I've read recently about polygamous wives belonging to Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Unlike Irene Spencer's Shattered Dreams or Susan Ray Schmdt's His Favorite Wife-this book is more forthcoming about the belief that a woman's salvation -"ticket to heaven" depends upon doing exactly what she is told to do by male church leaders and an appointed husband. Regardless if you are actually an acting out female adolescent - the FLDS solution is not counseling it is marriage at 14 to your first counsin! The whole book is more about sexual/physical/mental child abuse than polygamous marriage since Elissa is a 14 yr old first wife of an abusing man without other wives.
  The 431 pages are printed in extremely small font and difficult to follow. Sometimes the prose reminded me of something written in shorthand where another person tried to transcribe bad notes. Lags in places, does not provide helpful detail in other sections. I expected more.
  
  
  
• I could not put this book down!
  By A2HXPI5GG1CEI5 on 2008-05-29
  Stolen Innocence is a great read and I just could not put the book down. It is sickening just to see the abuse these teenage brides are put through in order to get to heaven. This book provides an inside look at the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints. Elissa Wall tells the true story of what it is like to be a member of this extreme religion, and breaking free of Warren Jeffs. This book really puts my view on this polygamous sect into perspective.
  
  
• Outstanding
  By A1NJG8DSG6Q5OE on 2008-06-26
  I just finished this book and found it fascinating and an eye-opener.
  It amazes me at how young the author is right now in light of what she has already been through. What she has done has taken a lot of courage and determination, and I applaud her bravery.
  This book, along with several others lately, bring to light a lot of things that have been kept secret about this cult--and cult is what it is. The followers, both men and women, appear to do whatever the "Prophet" tells them to. I have a feeling that if they were told that God (through the prophet) wanted them to drink poison, many of them would do so without hesitation--another Jim Jones situation.
  What I have trouble understanding is why the federal government doesn't do something about this whole situation. Numerous laws are being broken on a daily basis, not to mention one of their cloaked goals is to undermine the government. What keeps this from being as dangerous as any other instance when someone is trying to destroy our government, other than it is a much quieter, slower way to accomplish their purpose?
  Overall, the book was a very good read and evidently, according to other people's comments, has also opened many people's eyes as to what is really going on. It needs to be stopped--the kids can't protect themselves.
  
  
  
• give me more
  By A25MQVVT3K57KJ on 2008-07-16
  This is an amazing subject and I really admire Elissa Wall for telling it to us and for appearing in the court case that brought down Warren Jeffs. But for those of us who know very little about this subject, there could have had more detail.
  Not of all the traumatic things that happened to her, but of all the every day life in a FCLSD. I wanted to know what they ate (with 14 children), how the sleeping arrangements were organised. I wanted to know what they learnt in their home economics class (since most of us these days have never done home ec). I was curious about their clothing, where they got the material, what was popular amongst the girls, acceptable by the leaders and how they learnt to make them. What were the undergarments she referrred to? I wondered why the photographs were so poorly captioned. Which one was Rachel, Kassandra or even Mother Laura and Mother Audrey? I was confused about the actual nature of the rows in their household. How did they do those hair-dos and what sort of chores were they doing for how long and how often.
  I don't blame Elissa, she had lived the life and couldn't see it objectively, but she had a ghost writer (Lisa Pulitzer) and presumably William Morrow gave them an editor, who could have drawn her out for the prosaic details of her extraordinary life.
  
  
• Difficult Read / Fascinating Story
  By AGFFRF4DK34X2 on 2008-07-16
  Difficult Read / Fascinating Story
  
  While I applaud Elissa Wall for her willingness to share her trials and tribulations in the FLDS, I am totally baffled by the fact that HarperCollins publishers were willing to print a book with a zillion grammatical errors. As a veteran teacher and media specialist, I was shocked by the number of errors. While I realize she only had an eighth grade education, didn't she have a co-author and an editor???? The book had numerous errors such as:
  
  *dropped articles (a, an, the)
  *misspelled words
  *pronouns not agreeing with nouns
  *incorrect verb usage
  *run-on sentences
  *typo graphical errors (Spell Check does NOT identify misuse of correctly spelled words)
  
  If Americans are truly concerned about our children being educated, let's blame others in our culture besides teachers. Even the sub-heading of chapter 29 is missing the article "a" within a quote from Emily Dickinson!!! I am thinking she would have turned over in her grave with such a glaring oversight. Merril Jessop's name is misspelled in several places (he took over the FLDS after Jeffs' incarceration).
  
  This would have been an excellent book for high school students to read IF it had been written grammatically correct. I would never recommend this book to anyone as it exists today, which is a travesty in my eyes. Her courage to leave the FLDS cult and stand up to the dictator Warren Jeffs could have been a tremendous example to so many people who face insurmountable odds.
  
  However, I would strongly recommend Escape by Carolyn Jessop, Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer, and Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.
  The most positive aspect of the book was Jeffs' trial and his incarceration.
  
  I kept literally shaking my head "no" as I read all of these books because of my inability to relate to each follower's situation. I kept thinking HOW MUCH ABUSE IS TOO MUCH??? It is extremely difficult as an outsider to understand how Jeff's followers and now Merril Jessop's followers blindly believe everything they are told. I hope that other women and children who are abused will also be able to escape this Evil Empire.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Totally Mesmerizing
  By A1NWYBUZEP52UM on 2008-06-06
  While I have read books by other wives who've left the FLDS, this one was different in that it was the story of the 14 year old who brought down Warren Jeffs. Though this storyline doesn't happen until the latter part of the book, you feel the tension and stress that she was put under to do what the "prophet" told her to do. There was no choice in the matter and as much as she said she wasn't ready because of her age to marry, and to marry who she was told to marry, it fell on deaf ears. While this also true of other wives, I imagine myself a 14-year old, being told to marry someone I hate and to start a household at age 14. Staggering and stiffling. Some of her writing is a bit overdone (not to minimize the situation she was in) but it hammers home the point to where it's a bit ingenuous - just my take on it. But it is totally a page-turner and makes me all the more grateful that Warren Jeffs is behind bars.
  
  
• FLDS and Women's Studies
  By A218NPZVF939BN on 2008-06-14
  I finished this book last night after not being able to put it down. It is just as compelling as Escape, by Carolyn Jessop. I'd recommend reading both. This book is not as detailed when it comes to her childhood. There are a great deal of vague statements. I would have liked to have known the details as Jessop revealed in her book. Overall, the book felt relatively topical, yet detail heavy dealing with specific subjects. Jessop spells the beliefs out, this book you have to do a lot of critical thinking to pull the belief system out and apply it. I was transfixed with the portions about Warren Jeffs. This book gave me a better understanding of who he is and what he has done to these people. A good read.
  
  
• Will open your eyes! Great read
  By A28OFCV8D6XUBE on 2008-06-26
  With hearing about the whole FLDS in Texas and underage brides, I was curious. I saw this book at Target and picked it up. I probably read the covers and looked at her pictures for a good 10 minutes, I totally forgot I was standing in an isle in a store lol. This book will really open your eyes on this for of religion. How it's almost inexcapable. As tough as it all is, Elisa is strong and finds the good in all of it. It makes me think that if I were in her situation, married at 14 to a jerk, I would do the same thing. This was a very very good book.
  
  
• Great Outcome, But Not a Great Book
  By A321PESNNUQSV3 on 2008-07-02
  The author should be commended for her instrumental role in getting Warren Jeffs behind bars, and it is good to have an additional voice in the battle against the FLDS. That said, the book itself left a lot to be desired.
  I agree with a previous reviewer who wondered why Elissa did not seize upon her many earlier opportunities to flee. Yes, she was raised with the FLDS mindset, but she disobeyed and rebelled against the rules over and over. For all her claims that she believed she had to obey the "prophet," she was not afraid to speak up, even to Rulon and Warren, when she wished. She also led a life that was completely alien to most of its members (not that that's a bad thing). It certainly seems that it was her affair with Lamont that propelled her to leave and not the abusive lifestyle she endured, or she would have attempted to earlier, given that she was hardly the model of a submissive FLDS wife and daughter. Furthermore, she excuses her mother's dreadful behavior by constantly saying that her mother was raised in the FLDS, believed in them, and this lifestyle was all she knew. Then why doesn't the same go for Allen? He was raised in the FLDS, this is all he knew, too, and he completely believed that Elissa was his wife and that he had a right to sexual relations with her. I think what her mother did was much worse. She abandoned Elissa and her other children many times and never even explained to her what consummation of a marriage would entail. Had she done that, Elissa would not have been so shocked and unprepared. Of course it is a horror and a crime that a 14-year old would have to be married, but Elissa says that the worst part of her wedding night was that she didn't understand what Allen was trying to do. Yet Elissa forgives her mother and praises her, understands her mindset, but does not extend this understanding to a young man who was told that this was his duty. I think he really struggled to understand his young wife and was hurt by her. I hope that he is able somehow to escape the FLDS because he deserves a shot at life, too.
  Finally, though in the acknowledgments the copy editor is thanked for her "meticulousness," the book is riddled with errors.
  This is a one-star book to which I am giving three stars, strictly because at least she did help bring Jeffs to justice.
  
  
• Amazing, Courageous Story
  By A17U562HOY2OQV on 2008-07-07
  I was given this book to read by my mother in law. I dont' read a lot of memoirs but I can tell you that this one was amazing. No one should miss this opportunity to learn first hand about what goes on in this FLDS 'religion'. This group of people, this culture, is based upon the men dominating the woman. The religion proclaims that a man's key to heaven is to obtain three or more wives and keep them in the children ruled over with a firm hand. The woman's key is to 'keep sweet' and obey your husband at all cost, never let anyone see that you are less than perfectly happy in your subordinate lifestyle. And if the men don't honor their part in the religion? They can lose thier wives, children, home and money. Sometimes their jobs. Young boys who question the religion are tossed out, literally onto the streets, some as young as twelve. There is much more to learn, a lot of it pretty shocking. Elissa Wall grew up in this culture; she lived in a house with three mothers. When she turned fourteen, the 'prophet' Warren Jeffs, forced her to marry her 19 year old half first cousin. They share the same grandfather. When Elissa faught the marriage, she was mentally beaten down and had no escape. After repeatedly telling her 'husband' she wanted no physical relationship, she was raped. Repeatedly raped, and physically abused at times as well. Here we learn what lead to her escape from the religion and how she came to fight Warren Jeffs in court and save many future children from him. Elissa made MANY sacrifices along the way, and her story is heartbreaking. I cried at several points of the book. I plan to try to learn more about the history of these people and how evil or misguided men obtained such powerful and total control over thousands of followers. We need to stop this from happening to youth who don't know a way out. Elisssa's story can definitely help. The only reason this book got a four star rating rather than a five is because the writing is weak. Points are often repeated far too often. I think the editing and professional help Ms Wall employed could have cleaned the story up as far as the grammatical problems went. Otherwise, an unbelieveably quick but humbling and eye opening read.
  
  
• The case that got the ball rolling.
  By A1TLYFNKV6V6CB on 2008-07-08
  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.
  
  
• Good Book
  By A26G1ZO872Q942 on 2008-07-08
  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.
  
  
• Everyone Should Read This Book
  By A29A25EPSNY777 on 2008-06-05
  This is such a compelling story. I normally am reading about 2 or 3 books at any given time and this is one of the best books I have ever read. I have the hardest time putting this book down. It is amazing. Every sentence has me hooked. The media has a certain idea of how things in the FLDS work, but this inside view is unlike any other. It is like living on another planet (FLDS). I will always have an infinite amount of respect for Elissa Wall for everything she has been through... and still being able to smile everyday as well as tell her story to the world. I support her cause and thank her for being one of the few people to stand up against Warren Jeffs.
  
  
• Very Informative
  By A2ZK1U3P09CGX5 on 2008-06-13
  My heart broke as I read what this little girl endured - all in the name of religion.
  
  
• Stolen Innocence
  By A30S78SBWHNTDO on 2008-06-13
  Illuminating behind the scenes look at Warren Jeffs FLDS cult.
  The author is a very brave woman coming forward with this expose...not only of the Cults modus operandi but also fascinating dysfunctional polygamous
  familial infighting. Get this book!
  
  
  
• Inside look
  By A3LHBV5MGDANHR on 2008-06-18
  Elissa Wall provides an insider's look at the FLDS, both without Warren Jeffs in charge and with him. Her story is very believable and fascinating. I enjoyed it more then the other three books I have read about women escaping from the FLDS. The text is very readable, and while it is longer than most, the story is written in such a way as to pull you along. It draws you back to find out what will happen. She is a brave woman to put herself out there to bring charges against a powerful monster man, and knowing she would alienate much of her family. It is a story of hope and standing up for what you believe in. Terrific read.
  
  

• Escape
• His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy
• Audition: A Memoir
• Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife
• God's Brothel: The Extortion of Sex for Salvation in Contemporary Mormon and Christian Fundamentalist Polygamy and the Stories of 18 Women Who Escaped