Escape Reviews

• Stranger Than Fiction

  
  By AEYEAH3C78BBZ on 2007-11-27
  Escape is undoubtedly one of the most bizarre memoirs you are ever likely to read. It is small wonder that it quickly made its mark on the New York Times list of bestsellers. Written by Carolyn Jessop, a woman who was born into the Fundamentalist Lattery Day Saints (FLDS), the book describes what it is like to live as part of this cult which is distinctive primarily for its beliefs about polygamy. The FLDS, which emerged in the 1930s as a fundamentalist offshoot of the Mormon church, holds that God has ordained polygamy and not only that, but that it is a requirement for anyone who wishes to attain the highest level of heaven. Most men eventually have at least three wives, with more prominent members of the cult holding far more than that. Some of the leaders are believed to have fifty, sixty, or even one hundred wives. Women are generally placed with husbands at the whim of the cult's leader (who claims to receive divine guidance about which women belong with certain men). There are around 10,000 adherents to this cult living in the United States today.
  
  Jessop was born into a family that eventually had two wives but one that, compared to others in the community, seemed almost normal. When she was just eighteen, though, she was assigned to become the fourth wife of a fifty-five year old man. While she was married to him he added two more wives and later went on to add five or six more. Through fifteen years of marriage, Jessop gave birth to eight children. Through her marriage she suffered constant abuse at the hands of her husband, his other wives, and other members of the community. Though for much of her life she believed the claims of the FLDS religion, she eventually began to see through its hypocrisy and decided that, for the good of herself and her children, she would need to escape from it.
  
  Escape from FLDS is not easy. Their tight-knit communities have immense power and wealth. Even the local police officers are members of the cult and will not support a wife who seeks to emancipate herself or her family. Until Jessop, no woman had managed to escape the clutches of the cult with all of her children. Jessop, though, ran from the cult and fought against it in the courts, eventually winning full custody of her eight children. This was no small victory. In fact, it was worth telling in a book.
  
  While the book is a definite page-turner (as both my wife and I can attest) it is not always easy to read. The descriptions of life in the FLDS are at times horrific. There were several areas that I found particularly interesting.
  
  Jessop is frank (though not vulgar or graphic) in her discussions about sexuality within her plural marriage and well she needs to be, for sex plays a strange but crucial role in these marriages. Though the women generally hate their husbands, they still want to have sex with him--not for the sake of love or intimacy, but because sex is power. The wife who gains sexual favor with her husband is the wife who can use him to further her own desires. Often these desires pit her against the other wives. It is an odd situation where wives who hate their husband seek to have sex (which they hate) with their husband (whom they hate) so they can further their hate-filled plans towards each other. So much, then, for the idealized content of "sister wives" that the cult seeks to portray to the world.
  
  This book and its description of life within plural marriage shows that marriage--marriage as given to us in the Bible--serves as protection for women. When people ignore biblically-ordained marriage, women immediately lose the protection it affords. They quickly become subservient to men. The women always lose out.
  
  Perhaps the most shocking thing to remember while reading the book is that it takes place in twenty-first century America. This is not fundamentalist Islam in the Middle East; this is not the earliest days of Mormonism. This is happening in the very heart of America--women are treated like cattle, used to breed children and bought, sold and traded like so many goods. In America. It is almost unbelievable.
  
  While the FLDS is hardly an accurate representation of average religion and bears little resemblance to Christianity or even to Mormonism, this portrayal is increasingly what people think of when they think about religion. More and more people are becoming convinced that all religion tends towards extremism and a book like this may just fuel those fires. This story is awful to read, but it is written well and is for some reason quite fascinating.
  
  

• Perfectly produced audiobook does justice to a harrowing tale of survival

  
  By A1UQNX8S78JU0G on 2007-10-16
  When a memoir is turned into an audiobook it seems especially important that the narrator sound as if she could be the author. Narrator Alison Fraser accomplishes that and much more. She voices an accurate and believable Carolyn Jessop, the remarkable woman who escaped with her eight children from the grips of a violent and abusive cult - the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). Carolyn's true story is one of survival. Born into a polygamist society, Carolyn is married off at age 18 as the fourth wife of Merril Jessop, a prominent leader in the FLDS community. As Carolyn becomes pregnant nearly every year, she struggles against oppression by her husband, his other wives, and the violently misogynistic community. Narrator Alison Fraser is able to perfectly capture both Carolyn's vulnerability and strength, along with her naiveté and cunning intelligence, which makes Escape a gripping and believable audiobook. Listeners will feel as if Carolyn herself is telling this story, which is the sign of a perfectly produced audiobook.
  -Jessica Teel
  
  

• Excellent, buy it, borrow it, but read it!

  
  By A2KLDDOEUOLZHU on 2007-11-08
  It took me only 2 days to read this book. The language is smooth and flowing, easy to follow. The book itself is chilling. Is this REALLY going on in mainstream America? Is our government, let alone the citizens of this country, allowing these abuses to thrive in this modern day and age? This book is moving and eye-opening. The real people who should be reading it are those locked into the FLDS who, sadly, will probably never even have access to a library in their lifetime. I hope the author will one day write a sequel to this book, I'd be very interested in knowing how this amazing woman's life has 'turned out'. Especially in regard to her daughter Betty, and in light of the exposure of Warren Jeffs and newly, "the lost boys".
  
  

• A Must Read!

  
  By A11G0USB08XP6F on 2007-10-28
  Yesterday I started Escape by Carolyn Jessop and I couldn't put it down. What an incredible story! Ms. Jessop is a hero and an inspiration. I must admit that had I not had the experience of living in St. George, Utah for the past 5 years I would find her story hard to believe - however I am sure that every word is true. My heart goes out to Ms. Jessop and her children and I wish them the best and hope that they overcome their years of programming, abuse and adversity and live long, free, happy and healthy lives. Ms. Jessop's story is distrubing and frightening - to think that there are so many hopeless people enduring a life of horrible abuse, all in the name of God. I praise Ms. Jessop for her role in bringing down the evil criminal Warren Jeffs and I pray that the other evil heartless criminal Merril Jessop will also find his just rewards in this life. A lifetime in jail is a fitting punishment for both of these despicable men. Hurray to you Carolyn, you are a brave woman and my new hero.
  
  

• Escape

  
  By A1DR2ZN1ATY1ZT on 2008-02-26
  I thought the story was good, however I found the writing to be painfully elementary. I struggled to finish it, whenever I picked the book up it put me to sleep. This was a pick for my boook club so I wanted to see what the reviews were like, wondering why anyone would chose this poorly written memoir. I was surprised to see so many positive reviews. The story was truly compelling and the writing was truly awful.
  
  
  
  
• holy hell
  By A3MQ672FYFNM7B on 2008-04-24
  "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop is absolutely the best book I have ever read because it was both detailed and riveting. I literally could not put the book down because the author, Carolyn Jessop has such a fascinating story.
  
  Before I read this book I knew very little about the FLDS and polygamy (also know by the lesser-used term "bigamy.") I just figured this was a religion which allowed adults to choose to have more than one spouse. I tend to think of myself as a broad minded person so that never bothered me. After reading "Escape," though, I have since learned that there aren't any "consenting adults" in the FLDS. I also learned that the FLDS is actaully a heartless and ruthless cult that has ripped apart millions of lives. But really that's actually being too kind. The FLDS is no more than just a cover for pedophlles to rape innocent children and beat and abuse their many wives. They do this under the guise of a "church."
  
  Like many people, I have been following the news about the raid recently that took place in El Dorado, TX. After hearing Carolyn on Nancy Grace and Larry King describe some of the horrific atrocities that she both lived through and witnessed as a member of this deranged group, I knew that as a person very interested in both human rights and women's rights I had to read her book immediately.
  
  "Escape" is unlike any book I have ever read. I'm not exactly sure why; it's difficult to explain. It's that very special book that can capture a reader's emotion and spirit and keep them turning the page constantly. This is something an avid reader loves but very rarely experiences simply because no book can constantly keep a reader engulfed in the story. But "Escape" does.
  
  Carolyn describes her childhood as a member of the FLDS. When she was a young girl she and her family moved from Salt Lake City to the FLDS compound in Colorado City. Some of her childhood stories were so sad and heartless. She was often beaten severely by her unstable mother and often witnessed vicious abuse on the school children by the teachers, who were also FLDS members.
  
  Like a dairy cow, throughout her adolescence Carolyn was groomed for "celestial marriage" (this is the FLDS' ridiculous term used to describe the illegal act of bigamy/polygamy.) In fact, Carolyn was never allowed to speak to boys and always had to be completely covered up in public and could basically never show overt happiness or any other sentient emotion. During these passages Carolyn was especially delicate because this reader could tell that this was a tremendously somber and difficult time in her life.
  
  Carolyn also described how the FLDS married off young girls to men old enough to be their grandfathers or even great-grandfathers! YUCK...! Perhaps, this was the most repugnant. She detailed a story at a rare school dance (as a teenager) which men old also attended, "a girl could never refuse the attentions of an older or an elderly man. This was considered one of the most disrespectful things one of us could do." Are you kidding me? That poor girl. All of those poor girls have my deepest sympathy. Who in their right mind could condone this?
  
  When Carolyn turned 18 her father did nothing less than sell her off to a 50+++ man as his forth wife! Of course it goes without saying that Carolyn had zero consideration nor was she ever consulted. When her parents told her she was getting married the author describes it as being like a kidnapping because they were so afraid that Carolyn would try to escape the shackles of marriage to this pig!
  
  But Carolyn married Merril, a very important member of the FLDS. He had multiple wives, multiple children and treated all of them like worthless pieces of garbage. Carolyn's husband was such an arrogant man who automatically assumed that his wives wanted a sexual relationship with him. They would actually fight over him because as Carolyn described, her husband would abuse the wife who refused to have sex with him!
  
  Carolyn's entire married life was like a living nightmare, but even that cannot fully explain this. I have never heard anything so ugly or degrading or savage. Most of Merril's multiple wives and dozens of children had to live off of government welfare because he was too much of an arrogant sc*m bag to support his 50++ children and wives (keep in mind, they all lived together in 1 home!) I don't think I ever read a book in my entire life that was so shocking. Many times I gasped in horror and yelled out as I read some of the harrowing passages. It is absolutely disgusting what Carolyn and her children and all of the other innocent people of her cult had to endure. This book made me absolutely furious because the author was treated worse than an animal or even a prisoner on death row!
  
  Carolyn also described how her husband kept her pregnant for years and years and years. She was raped repeatedly and was never allowed to even consider birth control or abortion (even though she was both a rape victim and a lady who did not have a penny to her name!) In fact, her entire life was monitored by her husband and there was not one thing she could do without his explicit permission. And that is why Carolyn is such an amazing person. Because she was actually able to get a college degree and even enjoyed a career as a teacher. Carolyn learned from an early age that education was her only weapon in the war grounds that was this cult; the FLDS.
  
  Over the years Carolyn's everyday life got much more restricted while her community in Colorado City also became less and less free. Eventually all books were banned, school was banned, television and movies were banned and no one was allowed to question this. Can you imagine that there is a place in the United States that can actually ban school and anything else that promoted free-thinking? And, by this time Carolyn's life was no better than the millions of lives that were lost during the Holocaust because she was living inside a virtual concentration camp; her own private hell, thanks to their dictator, Warren Jeffs.
  
  Warren Jeffs was the new ruler or "prophet" of this f*scist cult that did not allow anyone to question him. Carolyn even described how Warren Jeffs promoted human sacrifice! And he had the power to rip apart entire lives for no other reason than to be totally cruel! Carolyn knew that if she did not get out soon she could be torn away from her 8 children!
  
  I experienced so many emotions while reading "Escape." I was interested, shocked, afraid and also elated when Carolyn finally escaped. Carolyn's story was the first time ever a woman actually escaped this cult and got custody of all of her children! Carolyn's story was entirely inspirational. And, I was so happy for her once she started her new life. Because Carolyn even met a very kind man and for the first time in her life stated dating. That's another inhuman side effect of the FLDS. For more than 30 years she was denied her sexuality and was forced to suppress her natural feelings. When a person is denied their sexuality they are denied their very own identity.
  
  Carolyn described in detail what the FLDS is. As I stated, before I read her book I heard of this group before but never knew what it was nor did I know that it was in actuality a violent cult. FLDS stands for: The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am very familiar with fundamentalism, as far as I'm concerned it is analogous with: extremism or even terrorism.
  
  Anyone who would give up common sense for an antiquated way of thinking, living and learning is not just destroying his or her life, but the ones closest to them. This book really taught me so much. I learned that poverty and lack of education are a breading ground for bigotry, hate and violence. I also learned the importance of free thinking. Because even though it was beaten inside Carolyn's head from the time she was born that this way of life was normal she intuitively knew that this was wrong and dangerous for all involved. And, most important, this book taught me that there are some very dangerous and violent terrorist in this country. We are always hearing about the "war on terror" but maybe that's just a diversion. The war in our own backyard is far more violent and terrifying because it's happening right in front of our eyes. And I learned that religion or spirituality is never hurtful or cruel. It should always be about love and compassion. Instead, cults like the FLDS promote shame and abuse as their primary weapon to control their brainwashed victims.
  
  What I can't understand is why does this still continue? Why aren't women's groups outraged? Can't they see that the women and children of the FLDS are not given a choice and are nothing more than pawns in this cruel game?
  
  When Carolyn finally realized that she was the victim of serious systematic domestic violence she realized the life she was forced to live was way worse than any "hell" her hateful cult tried to scare her into believing. Her new life was nothing less than a miracle! This is a story that must be told because everyone can appreciate Carolyn's courageous fight for emancipation!
  
  
  
  
• Awestruck!
  By A1N0284FZHSP3C on 2007-10-25
  This book is incredible! It will have you on the edge of your chair. You wont want to put it down. These cruel insecure, power hungry, egotistical, narcissistic men are the most putrid forms of life imaginable! Anger boiled inside me as I read this book. Carolyn is a remarkable women who anyone can draw inspiration from. Her determination to forge on for the sake of her kids is honerable. What a woman! I encourage everyone to read this book. Let's help Carolyn become successful over her book and help her to enjoy the riches she deserves after so long of oppression. You go girl!
  Angie
  
  
• An amazing story of bravery and endurance
  By A3PHF9UV3F177L on 2008-04-11
  Carolyn was born and raised in the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints (a religious sect which is in no way connected to the Mormon Faith). At the age of 18 she was forced into marriage to Merril Jessop, a leader within the FLDS and a man who was older than her father. At that time he already had 3 wives and 33 children. In time she would become one of 7 wives and bear him 8 children of her own. Her life was very restricted. She had to turn over any money that she earned to her husband and was dependent on what little he gave her to support herself and her children. She couldn't do anything without her husband's permission - not even calling an ambulance if her child was sick. In the FLDS culture, a man's wife is his property and he can do whatever he wants to her. Abuse is frequent.
  
  In this environment, Carolyn had few friends that she could trust. The other wives were not her friends but her competition for their husband's favor, because even if they didn't love their husband, he had the ability to improve the quality of their lives. Also, members of the FLDS community were actively encouraged to spy on one another. But even though life is immensely difficult, most women stay because they are conditioned from birth to believe that the outside world is corrupt and evil and that they will be doomed to Hell if they leave. (It was interesting to me that they did have some exposure to the outside world: Merril had outside business interests and also took his wives on occasional holidays to other parts of the US. Carolyn also had access to the internet through her work.)
  
  When Carolyn finally does escape, the tension is almost unbearable. I found the final chapters of the book especially interesting and moving, when Carolyn is describing what happened to her family after they left the compound. She found it immensely difficult to adapt to being allowed to do fun things with her children after having been conditioned her entire life to believe it was a sin to enjoy yourself. Even something simple like going to McDonalds was terribly stressful for her. The adjustment to having the freedom to make her own decisions was not an easy one. Her children also struggle in their different ways with the change from the life that they have always known.
  
  The reason that I have given this book only four stars is that I felt that the writing let it down. Carolyn's story feels like it just kind of poured out of her in a carthatic jumble of "this happened, and then this happened". This is perfectly understandable given what she went through, but a better co-author or editor would have pulled it more into shape. At times she repeats things she's already told us, while other parts get confusing (there are, after all, so many family members to keep track of). So it's not the most well written book that I have read this year, but it's still an amazing story and it could well be the book that I will remember the most vividly. Carolyn's bravery is astounding and very moving.
  
  
  
• Unbearably intense.
  By A2P27VWJE9O2XC on 2008-04-14
  There is a lot of heart-wrenching child abuse, crimes against humanity, and insane levels of animal cruelty. An example: a woman, who was giving birth to her first child, was not allowed to go to the doctor when her baby became stuck in the birth canal. She was forced to endure an episiotomy made with sewing scissors (at her husbands orders), and then stitched back together with dental floss (and that is the more mild form of abuse mentioned throughout the book).
  
  For anyone who wants to get the nitty-gritty details of a polygamous woman's life, this is absolutely the book to read. I became clearly aware why many polygamous women don't leave - the brainwashing is outlined clearly. In some communities, even the local police that respond to domestic abuse calls within the FLDS communities are FLDS men - who punish the woman who call, and then they tell her husband that she called. One police officer decided to teach his pregnant wife a lesson, by tying her to a bull who dragged her around the bull-pen until she miscarried her baby. Even some ambulance drivers are FLDS men, who require the husband's permission before taking a woman, or her child, to the hospital. There are so many dynamics at play, that many things make more sense to me now.
  
  This book genuinely leaves me with wondering if the FLDS men are, quite literally, insane; or, if they are the most power-hungry, control fanatics who relish in the absolute denigration and pain of women, children, and animals. I don't know. But the things they do are horrible and most of these women are born into it.
  
  
  
• A Fascinating Book & Subject
  By ABXANRX4GPYRZ on 2008-03-02
  This is an absolutely fascinating book.
  
  I visited Colorado City AZ and Hildale UT in August 2007 and and it was an extremely eye opening endeavor. There are 10,000 FLDS members living there. There were hundreds and hundreds of houses, many businesses and companies and a lot of wealth. Many homes were extremely large and luxurious. I saw the walled and secure compounds of the prophet and leaders of the church. I was followed by groups of men in pickup trucks on three occasions trying to run me out of town. I acted like I was leaving heading for the main highway and then they would pull away and I would circle back. I took many photos. I went in their stores and they looked at me like I was an alien. I saw the groups of wives, many very young with many children. Many looked at me with pleading eyes hoping if only they could get out. It was hard for me to believe that this was happening in the USA in 2007 !!!
  
  I highly recommend this book and also encourage you to visit Colorado City AZ and see it in real with your own eyes. Colorado City is an easy drive from Las Vegas NV, near beautiful Zion National Park and the pleasant city of St. George UT.
  
  
• Gripping tale makes an exciting audiobook
  By A2K3RS5QFZBWNB on 2007-10-16
  Listeners will not want to turn off the CD's until heroine Carolyn Jessop manages to escape the horrific world of the FLDS. Carolyn's memoir describes a world in which women are totally and utterly controlled - by their fathers, husbands, and religious leaders. Through calculated planning, and a lot of smarts and guts, Carolyn manages to free herself and her eight children from this nightmare world. This book was highly successful in audio format. Alison Fraser reads Escape and she sounds exactly how I imagine Carolyn Jessop might read. Her performance is appropriately emotionally without being overly theatrical, which makes the listener feel as if a real person, and not an actress, is telling this tale. An interview with the author is also included, which I found quite interesting and enjoyable. I highly recommend this audiobook. Escape is a true life horror story that fortunately has a happy ending.
  
  
• From Polygamist's Wife to Glorious Freedom
  By A3JPFWKS83R49V on 2007-12-29
  Extreme religion exists in many places around the globe and as Americans, we usually consider religious extremism a problem exclusive to other countries. But what is surprising is that there are many radical groups alive and thriving right here in the USA. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is one such operation. There aren't many adherents to this faith, but the oppression is extreme. Polygamy is only one of this church's many unorthodox teachings. Its leaders have been known to force all sorts of other restrictions and immoral rules on members, including the breaking up of families; abandonment of young boys who are seen as rebels; banning of music, television, and movies; etc.
  
  Carolyn Jessop is one person who has lived the FLDS experience and she presents her story in this book. Jessop details her days with the FLDS from her childhood all the way through to her unhappy, abusive marriage to one of the church's highest- ranking members. She talks about day- to- day life with her husband, his many wives, and their dozens of mutual children. She talks about the extreme neglect of her children by their father. She talks about the experience of dealing with her son's cancer and a father who was completely indifferent to the seriousness of the situation. She talks about her love of education and her determination to earn a college degree. She talks of the oppression and blind obedience within the FLDS and how it reached new levels of extremism when Warren Jeffs took over as supreme commander of the cult.
  
  Reading this book is quite surreal, and many will come away from it with mixed emotions. Some readers will feel outraged that something like this is taking place right here, in the United States of America. Some readers will feel frustrated as they read, unable to comprehend how grown adults could be so vulnerable to allow a religious leader to control every aspect of their lives. Others will feel great sadness, wondering how a man could be so cold and indifferent to his own family. It's difficult to imagine grown and otherwise rational adults following along with such madness. But this is exactly what they do in a church like the FLDS. The supreme leader is considered not only a religious adviser, but also a direct prophet of God. To go against his wishes is considered to be an act against God and based on the severity of the disobedience, it could result in harsh punishment. Some members are taken away from their families permanently and told they will never see or speak to their children or ex- spouses again. In the case of women, they are often taken away and forced to marry another man as punishment for their sins. Excommunication is also an option, and teenage boys are sometimes kicked out of the house (literally) and forced to live on their own to atone for their misbehavior.
  
  The ultimate ending of Escape is sweet. Carolyn Jessop made her getaway during the night and, with the help of her brother, some friends, and the state of Utah, she was able to forge a new life for herself and her family. It is always satisfying to read about someone freeing themselves from authoritarian oppression, and this is exactly what happens with Carolyn and her eight children. The children all had to attend therapy sessions to help cope with their problems but they are mostly doing well. One exception is Carolyn's daughter Betty. She appears to be brainwashed beyond hope and at the end of the book, Carolyn sadly reports that Betty has decided to return to Colorado City and re- join the FLDS community.
  
  One area that Escape doesn't touch is the political considerations of the FLDS and the constitutional protection we all know as freedom of religion. Most every American supports freedom of religion as a basic and very important right. But is it possible that this freedom can be taken too far? Carolyn Jessop seems to think so, but she avoids the political debate completely in this book. She wanted to tell her story and nothing more. She doesn't delve into the politics of freedom of religion or discuss its limitations. She just tells her personal story of escape and encourages other oppressed individuals to do whatever they can to eliminate oppression and restore their own freedom and dignity.
  
  Escape isn't always easy. Whether the oppression is religious in nature or caused by something else, it takes great courage to stop pouring water on endless fires and flee them instead. Carolyn Jessop is a woman whose life serves to inspire oppressed individuals everywhere. And her story is one worth reading, for both educational awareness and for its ultimate message of hope.
  
  
  
  
• Excellent book!
  By A89ZOPX5HAIQ2 on 2007-12-03
  I bought this book after reading a review about it in the Washington Post. I've only bought a book a few times on review alone, without actually picking the book up and reading the first few pages. This book did not disappoint. Her story is tragic and needs to be told. There is a romanticism to polygamy that needs to be shattered. Women are not cherished. Not only are they abused by their husbands, the reader finds out that wives are abused by their sister wives, who, oddly enough, fight for the affections of a husband they don't even like. The older children (some older than their "Mothers") are part of the abuse as well.
  Carolyn Jessup deserves a happy ending to the rough beginning of her life. She needed to tell her story and we, the public, need to hear it. I look forward to reading her second book, if there every is one.
  
  
• Free At Last
  By A2B8EVP48GVZ4R on 2008-02-09
  Just imagine this: You are a girl who graduates high school. After a year, while you're taking classes at a community college, you're waken up in the middle of the night and told by your father that you may attend college, but you must marry this man. You're 18 years old; he is 50. Even though you're scared and dread marrying a man old enough to be your father, you have no say in the matter. You must do it. To reject or even question this is to defy the word of God. Once you marry this man, you can't move back into your parent's house, for your husband is now in charge of you, someone you must answer to and obey without question. This includes asking permission to make even the smallest decision, turning over any money you have over to him, and have sex with him whenever he wants to. You are also commanded to have children, for that's how your worth is measured. What's more, you become just one of his many wives, whom you must also answer to. Any instance of rebellion, no matter how small, is grounds for a severe reprimanding, basically bordering on abuse. In short, you're not really a person, but more like an object to be mistreated and traded to other husbands.
  
  This was no fairy tale. This was a horror story and it happened to a young woman named Carolyn Jessop. A member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), she was the 18-year-old high school graduate who was waken up in the middle of the night and told by her father that she was to marry Merril Jessop, the 50-year-old man in question. By marrying him, she became the fourth of his many wives, whom she had to answer to, in particular Barbara, who imposed autocratic rule over Carolyn, the other wives, and the many children who lived in the Jessop household. Over the next 15 years, Carolyn was forced to help the other wives, pick up after children who should have been taken care of by their moms, answer to Barbara, turn over her money to Merril, and bear 8 children. Some of her pregnancies were hell for her (she endured constant morning sickness), but the final one nearly killed her. She almost bled to death and was saved by an emergency hysterectomy. In the interim, she witnessed the abuse imposed on the other wives and children by Merril and Barbara, the emotional breakdown of one of the wives, and the intense (not to mention ridiculous) competition among the wives as Merril added new ones to the bunch.
  
  Despite all of this, Carolyn had things going for her. She was bright and determined to get a college education (something that many women in the FLDS do not get to do), she dared to question what was going on (albeit in a way so as not to offend Merril), and she was determined that no matter what, her kids were going to have normal lives and not be abused and mistreated like the other children in the Jessop household.
  
  As bad as the polygamist cult was, Carolyn grew alarmed as it became dangerously extreme under the leadership of new "prophet" Warren Jeffs (who took over after the death of his father, Rulon Jeffs). Worried that she might eventually become a permanent prisoner, Carolyn, at the age of 35, took her kids and managed to escape in the middle of the night. Though life on the outside was difficult at first (Carolyn suffered from PTSD and had to unlearn the fear that she had been programmed to have), she and her kids (with the exception of Betty, who was still devoted to the FLDS) became more stable and happier. She began to enjoy life like she never had before. She also realized that people in the outside world, whom the FLDS constantly told her were "evil", were kind, generous souls who helped her, more so than Merril and many others in the FLDS. Now at 40, Carolyn is living the life and happiness she had been denied.
  
  As Americans, we cherish religious freedom in this country, but what Carolyn went through was not freedom. It was slavery, a slavery created by people who believe they're doing the work of God but are really perverting Him. This is no way to live. Carolyn is now free of this nightmare and deserves all the happiness she gets. I am really happy for her. You will be, too.
  
  
• Content good, storytelling not so much
  By A1UQV6TOMBMOKF on 2008-03-31
  This was an interesting glimpse into a lifestyle that is virtually unknown to most that live in the US. I did struggle sometimes to complete the book though - the never-ending tales of backstabbing, complaining, heinous behavior, and so on was a little too much. The author was never in the wrong, and this was improbable.
  
  
• You've heard the expression, 'Read it and weep"
  By A1BY89JC6JOAC5 on 2008-04-09
  Wow. Carolyn Jessop's powerful story mesmerizes. I couldn't put it down. It was appalling to find out what is happening today, right here in our United States. Just think - these women are brought up to believe that the only way they'll get to heaven is to be taken there by a husband that they have to kowtow to, have sex with, have multiple children for, and share with other women. They have to dumb down, behave, and wear pioneer clothing. They may or may not be physically abused. And they can't complain. This lifestyle (or perhaps cult would be a better term) has become a virtual dream world for some twisted men.
  
  This book is well written by Carolyn and Laura Palmer, and reads easily.
  
  Carolyn's journey out is very interesting, and her story needs to be heard.
  
  
• Great book, will make you appreciate your life
  By AHEQHR92Z2UTP on 2007-10-30
  I read this book in about 2 days, it was that interesting. It is a little dark at times, but ultimately the story is inspiring and uplifting. It will really make you appreciate your life and all the things you take for granted, like being able to watch tv or go shopping at the mall. I would recommend this book to anyone.
  
  
• Her story is just unbelievable!
  By A2A2L777COY9VT on 2007-11-08
  Because the book is titled "Escape," you know what happens in the end. But, that did not stop me from saying to myself several times during the book "she's not going to make it out of this one." The only way to descrbe the story is unbelievable. The cruelty Carolyn endured at the hands of some horrible people is hard to read about. You will be absolutely riveted.
  
  I wish that I could have a conversation with the author. I am curious her time as a school teacher and her time running the hotel. With all the interaction she had with people outside the cult, did she ever try to enlist their help to get her out? It seems like it would have been possible. Maybe she was still just under the FLDS mind control so strongly that she thought she would face eternal damnation for doing so.
  
  I'm going to recommend this to everyone I know who likes to read!
  
  
• Escape by Carolyn Jessop - NOT to be MISSED
  By A68271DP5D4F0 on 2007-11-11
  Escape is Carolyn's touching and sensitively told personal story: At 18, Carolyn became the fourth wife of a 50-year old man in Utah. This was in the 1980s.
  
  In 2003, when Carolyn was 33, she and her eight children escaped from her husband and the Polygamous FLDS sect, in the middle of the night. She had $20 to her name. Carolyn is the only woman to have escaped Polygamy, bringing all her children.
  
  
  The FLDS is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The FLDS is the radical sect that split off from the Mormon (LDS) church and is not to be confused with the mainstream Mormon church.
  
  Written with Laura Palmer, Escape is a best-selling book and a venture into a world of which many have never heard - this is an inside look at the horrors of the polygamous world of the FLDS.
  
  The FLDS was started after the mainstream LDS church no longer allowed polygamy in the late 19th century. Polygamy is the issue that divides the FLDS from the LDS.
  
  The FLDS sect in the twin city area of Hilldale, Utah/Colorado City, Arizona - is the sect into which Carolyn Jessop married.
  
  Carolyn grew up in polygamy, from 6 generations of polygamy on her mother's side.
  
  Many who grew up in Utah, such as myself, have such polygamy far back in our ancestry. In fact, virtually all of the original Utah Pioneer settlers had to have more than one wife. All my great and great-great grandfathers had at least two wives and one of my great-grandfathers had 6 wives and 54 children from the five surviving wives.
  
  But that was in the mid-19th century. Progress has marched on for many of us, but it was not so for Carolyn and those still in the FLDS today.
  
  During her childhood in the 1970s. Carolyn grew up with her parents, her father's other wives, and her siblings in Salt Lake, away from the FLDS community. Her mother was happy and her parents briefly had a Christmas tree and a coffeemaker in the house, both of which are taboo in the religion.
  
  Once Carolyn's parents moved to the Colorado City FLDS compound, her mother grew desperately unhappy.
  
  Colorado City was run by the then-Prophet Leroy Johnson (Uncle Roy). The Prophet was the leader of the FLDS and his word was the word of God. What the Prophet said was a matter of law. The Prophet was believed to speak directly with God.
  
  In her acknowledgements to the book, Carolyn describes the FLDS:
  
  "The FLDS is constructed on a scaffolding of lies. We were all brainwashed into believing that everyone in the outside world was evil."
  
  Referring to her life now after her escape, Carolyn continues:
  
  "Every Christmas, when I see the delight in my children as they unwrap presents from people they never met, I realize what a monstrous lie we were taught to believe."
  
  In her book, Carolyn describes her escape.
  
  "Escape. The moment had come. I had been watching and waiting for months. The time was right. I had to act fast and without fear. I could not afford to fail. Nine lives wee at stake: those of my eight children and my own."
  
  ..."At eighteen, I was coerced into an arranged marriage with Merril Jessop, a fifty-year-old man I barely knew. I became his fourth wife and had eight children in fifteen years..."
  
  "The first thing I did when I realized I might be able to escape was to go to my sister Linda's house to use the telephone. I couldn't call from my home because the phones were monitored. My husband's six other wives were suspicious. I had a reputation for being somewhat independent and thinking for myself, so the other wives kept tabs on me."
  
  ..."When I was growing up in the FLDS, our lives had not been as extreme as they were becoming under Warren Jeffs. The children attended public schools. But that ended when Jeffs took over. He felt that teachers I the public schools had been educated by `gentiles' [non-FLDS] and were `contaminated.' "
  
  So Carolyn's children attended the private FLDS schools. Warren Jeffs believed he was Christ incarnate, and spoke of moving the FLDS members to a walled-off area within the compound from which there would be no escape.
  
  Jeffs believed the FLDS were the `chosen seed of God' and that it was his duty to protect them from everything unclean, such as the `outside' world. Jeffs ordered all secular [non-FLDS] books to be destroyed.
  
  Carolyn had been a public school teacher before Jeffs took over. She had had more than 300 children's books, which were destroyed under Jeffs' rule.
  
  One night in 2003, Carolyn returned home but could not find her oldest daughter, Betty, who was then 14. Warren Jeffs was known to marry off girls to older men - girls as young as 14. Jeffs himself had dozens of wives - at least 70.
  
  [Since the writing of the book, Warren Jeffs was arrested, tried, and convicted of two felony counts of arranging under-age marriages of girls to older men. News updated November 10th include release of documents that Jeffs tried to hang himself in his jail cell in September while awaiting trial, and also confessing to `immorality' with a `sister' and a `daughter.' His nephew, Brent Jeffs, is suing Jeffs for sodomy when Brent was an underage student in one of the schools and Warren was the principal. Jeffs is awaiting sentencing for the two felony convictions. He could face life imprisonment.]
  
  When Carolyn returned home one night to find 14-year-old Betty at a sleepover at Jeffs' house with other 14-year old girls, Carolyn knew she had to act fast: her worry was that Betty would soon be married off to an older man.
  
  ..."One by one, I put my children in the van and told them to buckle their set belts. I was frantic. I was also out of time. Harrison [severely disabled since birth] was the only one left...I strapped him into his car seat, turned on the ignition, and counted to see if my children were all there. Betty was missing."
  
  Carolyn found 14-year old Betty in her room but Betty resisted Carolyn taking her into the car. After a brief skirmish, Betty acquiesced and Carolyn left southern Utah in her van with her eight children, bound for Salt Lake City.
  
  On the escape drive, Betty saw that her mother had lied as to where they were going.
  
  "You are stealing us! Mother, you are stealing us! Uncle Warren will come and get us."
  
  "Betty, I can't steal my own children."
  
  "We don't belong to you! We belong to the prophet! You have no right to us."
  
  Five hours later, Carolyn and her children were in hiding in Salt Lake City, and her husband began to hunt them down like prey.
  
  Carolyn describes what it was like to move to the FLDS community in Hilldale in the late 1980s, and to learn that the sunglasses the FLDS wives often wore usually covered black eyes.
  
  Power was in the hands of the husband, and the wives and children's fate and rank within the family was determined by how obedient and subservient they were to him.
  
  The prophet Leroy Johnson had announced that he had a revelation that Carolyn should marry Merril Jessop - Carolyn had been planning on going to college to become a doctor, but her father knew that once the prophet spoke that he must act quickly and marry Carolyn to Jessop.
  
  There were no questions asked: Carolyn's family did what they were forced to do. Carolyn later learned she had been a pawn in a business deal between her father and Jessop.
  
  When Carolyn married Jessop - who was very high up within the FLDS priesthood - she, at 18, had never had a previous relationship with a man, had never dated (dating was forbidden) and she did not love Merril - she did not even like this man whom many others called cruel.
  
  On their wedding night, Carolyn was bound to wifely duty, as a possession of her husband. She cringed when he touched her, and she was relieved when he was not able to consummate their wedding night. She later learned to use sex as a safety weapon in the relationships with the other wives and children. Sex was the one power the younger wives had over a more powerful wife.
  
  Carolyn became Jessop's fourth wife - of the previous wives, only Barbara was still having sex with Merril, and Barbara was the wife to whom all other wives, children and Merril answered. Barbara made Carolyn's life miserable. Carolyn was watched wherever she went.
  
  Jessop was later to add two more wives to his plural marriage.
  
  Abuse against wives and against children was not only permissible, but a way of life.
  
  "It was preached at church that if you didn't put the fear of God into children from the time of their birth, they would grow up and leave the work of God. Abuse was necessary to save a child's soul."
  
  Encouragement was few and far between. One of the wives later approached Merril, and spoke up against him on behalf of Carolyn:
  
  "Merril, it's wrong for you to use your daughters against your wives and encourage them to be hurtful and mean to us and your other children."
  
  At one point, Carolyn realizes she missed an important step in the teachings and blessings of the FLDS religion: She had never received a Patriarchal blessing. The Patriarch is third in line from the top - the prophet, Council of 12 Apostles and the Patriarch - (third in line - similar to an Archbishop's rank in the Roman Catholic church).
  
  The importance of a Patriarchal blessing is that the Patriarch tells why you were put on this earth. When Carolyn did finally receive that blessing, she learned that she was born with the gift of discernment - that she could look at someone and know if they were good or evil.
  
  It was that gift of discernment, among her many other gifts and strengths, that gave Carolyn the strength to escape, and to finally find happiness and peace.
  
  Carolyn tells her gripping story in a matter-of-fact way that does not undersell the horror of the facts themselves - nor does it do short shrift to the beauty and the power of humanity that finally surfaces in her heroic tale.
  
  A must read. You REALLY do not want to miss this one.
  
  
  
• This is Real
  By A1G6HWUFP0OA32 on 2008-04-05
  I started reading this book on International Women's Day (March 8). What started out as a day of empowerment for women internationally became a call for local action - what could I do to help these women right here at home?
  
  Having lived in Arizona since the '70's, you hear in the local media and from other people about the strangeness of the FLDS and Colorado City. Many things that Ms. Jessop says I had heard about and seen myself. I now ask myself why we in Arizona and Utah did not address this known problem sooner - I am as guilty as anyone else.
  
  Today, the compound in Texas that Warren Jeffs established (that Carolyn mentions) was raided, and more women and children were rescued from this cult. My heart breaks to think what a difficult life they and Carolyn have had and the difficult life they have ahead to extricate their minds and hearts from the abuse that they had come to believe was "normal". I'm not saying that our run-of-the-mill American life is perfect, but to help them to step closer to personal freedom is worthy of being called a true act of courage and kindness.
  
  
• Unbelievable Story Very Well Told
  By A1BSRNTPW0J8JI on 2007-11-02
  Carolyn Jessop and writer Laura Palmer do a wonderful job telling an almost unbelievable story about the despotic FLDS community, an offshoot of the Mormon Church, which still practices polygamy. Each year, the FLDS "prophet" has more "revelations" that impose harsher and harsher sanctions on his flock, especially the women. When a man offends prophet Warren Jeffs he's excommunicated and overnight, his wife and their gaggle of children are given to another man. Girls are routinely assigned to ancient men and two days later are married to them. It's hard to believe this community exists in the U.S.
  Jessop must have kept a diary or have a great memory; she recalls anecdotes and conversations throughout her life, from the time she was forced to marry a man she hated, endure his abusive rule and that of his nasty favorite wife and give birth to eight of his children. Carolyn's resolve and intelligence allow her to triumph, although her victory is made more real by the fact that it is bittersweet. Jessop and Palmer's feat is to show us how a highly intelligent girl/woman could be conned into believing that only Warren Jeffs and his henchmen could buy her ticket to heaven. You come away from the book having to admit that the people of this community are no different from the rest of us, except that they had the misfortune to be born into the FLDS society.
  
  Carol Pogash
  author, "Seduced by Madness: The True Story of the Susan Polk Murder Case"
  
  
• Wow. Great book.
  By A3AII0ODC3Y8H4 on 2007-12-14
  I started this book because a friend of mine, who grew up with Carolyn Jessop in Colorado City (in fact, she's mentioned and thanked by the author in the introduction) recommended it. We are reading it for our book group meeting in January. I thought I would get a head start, started reading it a few days ago and could NOT put this book down.
  
  First, it is extremely well-written. My experience with memoirs is that they are boring and drone on and on. This had me captivated from the first chapter. I loved how it started as she was escaping then flashed back to her childhood and how she got to this point. This was never a poor-me or I'm-so-great account. If anything, Carolyn Jessop comes across as very grateful. She is obviously a strong woman but she is very open that her escape could not have happened without a lot of love and support from people that she barely knew. She is not arrogant or overly modest. It was hard, she did it, but she could not have done it on her own. I came away having an enormous amount of respect for her.
  
  Second, it oddly does not bash polygamists, FLDS, or her parents. Somehow, she maintained a level of respect for her heritage that is awe inspiring. My friend who grew up there before Warren Jeffs, is very much the same way - it wasn't awful, but it wasn't for her. Jessop does an excellent job detailing how it went from a very traditional religion and turned into nothing more than a disturbed cult. I've always wondered how that happened, and she very carefully detailed the steps. It felt similar to "Reading Lolita in Tehran"- nothing happens overnight, but it can still happen quickly.
  
  I can not recommend this book enough. I live very close to the area, so this hit home for me (I had no idea how much of the southern UT area the FLDS controlled). But aside from that, it is truly a well-written book that explains how people that most society refer to as freaks, truly think and feel. I personally have been very judgmental when I see the polygamist families out. She took a very foreign lifestyle to me, made it completely understandable and somehow, despite her horrific treatment, came away a positive person.
  
  Wow. Read this. You will not regret it. I learned so much from this.
  
  
  
• A view from inside
  By AVJDSIQPP87B9 on 2008-04-25
  With the current news coverage of the raids of the Texas polygamist in April of 2008; the interviews with the women who are currently in the sect and the many interviews that Carolyn Jessop has given I looked forward to reading ESCAPE. The book gives a real incite into the community. For those people who make the comments about what they would have done in the situation that Carolyn found herself in, her view provides an excellent perspective. She was born into the lifestyle of polygamy and although it is hard for the rest of the society to understand, you have to see it from the view of someone like Carolyn who literally was taught the benefits of polygamy from her grandmother's knee. Hind sight is always 20/20 and we who live in a different culture want to pass our own judgments. However, it is amazing how anyone put up with what Carolyn endured. She must have felt that she was getting something out of the relationship to stay and have 8 children.
  
  What I found interesting is that the conditions in the sect are based on what the woman will attain in the after life.
  
  The book also has universal themes as it relates to the abuse of women and children.
  
  As other have said, my criticism of the book is that it is a little long. Some of the stories could have been condensed and there are a number of incidents that are repeated which results in several other reviewers remarks about poor editing.
  
  Another reviewer who was critical of the book commented that "the author was never wrong." There is some merit to that point. Although Carolyn was in a terrible relationship with her husband and all of her sister wives, she does project a some what holier than thou attitude. But to her credit, the infighting about the sister wives and adult daughters must have been terrible.
  
  It is not until the end of the book that Carolyn makes any reference to the "lost boys" who were kicked out of the sect, which I found interesting. But she was only telling her story. She makes no reference to any of Merrill's son who faced the blight.
  
  She also spent too many pages on the illness of her handicapped child. I realize that it was very helpful for her emotionally to tell the story, but like other parts of the book it could have been summarized.
  
  One of the things that I found totally amazing was how a man like Merrill Jessop finances all of these children and homes. Carolyn relates how she got public assistance after she escaped, but some of the news reports indicate that women in the sect also get public assistance and I wonder if Carolyn did while she was still with Merrill.
  
  I also got the impression that there was more to the story about how she survived immediately after she left, but I suspect that she could not tell the full story because of possible retribution.
  
  The description of her meeting with Brian, the current love of her life was a bit fairy tail-ish.
  
  All in all it was a good read and an interesting perspective. At some point there will be more books written about the FLDS and I'm sure ESCAPE will give me excellent background for further reading.
  
  
• Excellent Book - A Real Eye-Opener
  By A1WSU7VHDE3QG2 on 2008-05-03
  This is one of the best books I've read in a long time - I completely disagree that it drags on or is boring in any way. It's a fascinating psychological study of what brainwashing and living in a religious cult can do to men, women (and yes, the women could be brutal - when people are reduced to living in survival mode, they often resort to primitive behavior) and children, and as other reviewers have stated, it's incredibly difficult to believe this happened, and is happening, in the U.S. This book completely changed my mind about the El Dorado raid; as a social worker, I was upset that so many children were being torn from their mothers. After reading Carolyn Jessop's book, I now believe the we are only getting small snippets of info from the media and don't know what the CPS workers have actually found. These children, according to the book, are subjected to extreme brutality including rape, incest, watching the torture and extermination of animals (a little gem that Warren Jeffs implemented under his "reign" of terror) - not to mention educational, emotional and medical neglect. Mothers are instructed to abandon their children in favor of their husbands, and can be "reassigned" to a different man at random, at any time. The risks that Carolyn took to protect her children and herself are difficult to grasp - she could have paid with "blood atonement" (Jeffs' punishment which involves slitting a person's throat from ear to ear) or at the very least have never seen her children again. I can't commend her enough for her actions and for writing this book, and hope that many more women (and men) will be helped by the lid she just blew off the pot of the FLDS.
  
  
• Couldnt put this book down!
  By A26F4H69UXQO0B on 2007-10-28
  I saw this on Oprah in the breakroom at my Job for 3-4 minutes. It caught my attention so i figured to get the book. I couldnt stop reading! I felt so bad for Carolyn and her children with what they had to endure on a daily basis. I am sure there are other communities that continue with this but in the way it was meant to be. Merril took something that was supposed to be beautiful and turned it into a nightmare. Carolyn I am happy that you got out of there and praise you on your strength to fight for your children.
  
  
• Profile in courage
  By A24VUX32X3DFK3 on 2007-11-19
  Like others here read it in two days and couldn't put it down. Unbelievable that in our media-saturated society anyone can live in such isolated circumstances. This woman has amazing strength-something to think about next time I want to whine about traffic or some other trivial inconvenience. I hope more women, in all walks of life, realize that they can challenge the status quo when it's abusive.
  
  
• The Epitome of PTSD
  By A2FUC7VV8P0VY8 on 2007-12-23
  It has now been nearly three years since I became a Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress (BCETS) and two years since becoming a Fellow of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress (FAAETS). I have, however, never read a more poignant description of the physical and psychological consequences of recurring trauma at such a profound personnel level (and I have read several hundred!)
  
  This biographical offering should be required reading for any student of abnormal psychology. It traverses from gender; to gender role; to biological, psychological, and sociological foundations of personality development; to locus of control (perceived control a person feels he or she has on the outcome of life events; to sociopathic ontology; to Acute Stress, PTSD, and comorbid disorders. The work not only describes the psychological consequences of childhood and adulthood traumatic stress, but vividly describes the current and future manifestations Carolyn might expect; such as increased physical and neurological problems, such as autoimmune disorders, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain -- symptoms not readily associated by the sufferer or medical professionals with intense trauma or prolonged stress.
  
  The book also provides an excellent insight into sociopathic disorder, antisocial personality disorder. Unfortunately, though not described by Carolyn, such extreme trauma might also result in Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). More importantly, Carolyn's description of her daughter, Betty, greatly furthers Dr. Jennifer Freyd's pivotal works on betrayal trauma, in which victims often repress or minimize the abuse at the hands of important others in order to preserve the relationship until such time as the relationship is no longer needed or viable. In essence, the victim undergoes a type of traumatic amnesia. However, PTSD research has well documented the compounding effects of repeated trauma. Betty well demonstrates a wide body of research that the coping strategy of women centers on a biologically, psychologically, and sociologically derived "tend-and-befriend" rather than the "fight-or-flight" coping strategy of men. Carolyn's insight into years of abuse, however, lends credence to the suggestion that, rather than merely viewing men and women on a bipolar masculine or feminine level, psychological and sociological reinforcement might amplify or attenuate biological predisposition. In essence, Carolyn demonstrated not only the tend-and-befriend coping strategy, she also demonstrated a fight-or-flight coping strategy when she realized in order to ensure the survival of her children, befriending her sister wives was not sufficient or viable; therefore, she had to rely on fight-or flight as a coping strategy.
  
  Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Carolyn's book centers on locus of control. Conceptualized by Julian Rotter, locus of control measure the extent to which a person believes the outcome of life events is the consequence of his or her behavior, the behavior of others, or even serendipity. In the environment Carolyn describes, a researcher would firmly expect Carolyn to demonstrate a highly external locus of control - survival was the result of the whims and behavior of Merril. However, she repeatedly reflects a highly internal locus of control - survival was directly the consequence of her own perception, cognition, and behavior. This elucidation greatly supports a strong biological component to locus of control.
  
  Carolyn's work was so compelling and well constructed that I couldn't stop reading from start to finish. I would strongly encourage her to write a sequel to help medical and mental health professionals better understand the psychological and physical manifestations of her and her family and the therapy she finds most effective. The environment that Carolyn describes that shaped her past is unlikely to disappear. In fact, it is likely to only become more prevalent. Researchers are not permitted to engage in research that elicits such responses. It is only through the brave, unsensationalized works of Carolyn Jessup that we in the mental health community can develop better preventative and interventional programs and the criminal justice community can enact better laws to protect the potential victims. As a lifelong researcher, I am certain the mental health community would leap at the opportunity to participate in development and employment of programs to assist in prevention and intervention. Alan Hensley, PhD Candidate, BCETS, FAATS.
  
  
  
• Excellent First Person Account
  By A2290LI0KHFT2T on 2008-04-12
  I bought this book at about 9:00 PM on a Thursday night, read most of it, slept for a few hours, and was finished with it by 8:00 AM the next morning. I simply could not put it down.
  
  What I found extremely interesting about the book was not the scintillating details about the FLDS religion, but what a truly classic escape from abuse narritive it is. Many, many survivors of domestic violence will recognize their own story in the pages of this book. The fear, manipulation, deprivation, control, violence, the planning, the escape in the middle of the night, dealing with the legal system - even the plastic bags!
  
  I really appreciated that this book showed how crucial a balanced education is. The FLDS leaders purposely deprive their followers (particularly women) of education to keep them ignorant, subserviant, and fearful. She doesn't come out and say it, but it is clear that Jessop believes her education was key to her ability to escape. I have no doubt that her ex-husband realizes that it was a "mistake" to let her go to college, as well.
  
  In her dedication, Carolyn Jessop dedicated this book to those who have not yet escaped and assured them that they have the power and stength to do so. I think that this book has the potential to reach millions of those living in abusive relationships outside the FLDS subculture. I hope that people read this book, see Jessop's strength, and realize they do not have to live in fear, pain, and chaos no matter how insurmountable the odds seem.
  
  Some of Jessop's critics (like the SLTRIB reporter that seems to want to join the FLDS half the time) have written that Jessop didn't talk enough about the "good times" living in her community. After reading the book, I didn't think that was true, I felt Jessop described some very sweet and poignant moments which balanced the narrative well.
  
  I give this book a full five stars because the story is brilliantly told. I do share some of the other reviewers' concerns about editing (the repeating gets tiresome). As others have noted, I also wondered whether Jessop was completely honest about her role in the family. I can't imagine living in that environment without ever once retaliating or joining in with the disfunction - but this was her memoir, so I suppose the other members of that family can write their own books if they want to explain their side. I would also imagine that her lawyers wouldn't have let her be fully self-disclosing due to the fact that anything negative could be used against her in future potential custody disputes. The story is so well-told, I don't think these editing/content isses detracted from the narrative overall.
  
  (On a side note: I hope that the raid on YFZ in Texas has the unintended side-affect of selling millions more copies of this book. Jessop and her children deserve every dime. I hope that she uses the financial freedom to continue dispell the secrecy that has allowed the FLDS sub-culture to dehumanize and terrorize men, women, and children for generations.)
  
  
• Carolyns' Story and Polygamist Wives' Story
  By A3N3OTSKPUQGN2 on 2008-04-22
  This is Carolyns' story, with the details of her history growing up in the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints cult called FDLS. And of her escape with her eight children in the middle of the night. She marries a polygamist at age 18, and flees at age 35.
  She owns the story with her brilliant voice. She also speaks for many, many women who have endured relentless abuse from childhood to bondage in their so-called marriages to the polygamists.
  Here is a "heads up" for some one who wants to read the book. The details of abuse of children, women, and animals are of the very worst kind. Very horrific and cruel. The men were allowed to treat women and children like property so that the women were treated like slaves and with severe abuse. They were denied basic rights, and any joys or pleasures were taken away. Warren Jeffs who has been in the news of recently, is a sadistic sociopath and I am glad he is being prosecuted although it is not clear if he will receive life sentence.
  Despite the gruesome details, she writes with so much honesty, courage, heart, and intelligence and it is an inspiring true story.
  I could not put this book down like many readers. Everyday since I've read it I've thought about Carolyn and pray that she is well. I also think about all the women and children who are still suffering in these cults. It is amazing that this is occuring in America.
  
  
• Very inconsistant, reversing what she says on many things!
  By A3BW20IBFO2EFX on 2008-06-04
  For about the first quarter of this book I found it a very good read - till I seen she contradicted herself on something she had just said. After that I paid attention, and found she contradicted herself on many things. First off she said her babies were always small, but she had said her girl was born weighing 7 pounds. --- They were investing in numerous businesses, yet she said she and her children were almost starving. She said at one point that she quit her job and stayed home, but later in the book said she had always had a job while she was with her husband. --- She said at one point that her husband had withdrawn all supplying of necessities to her, to make her submit, but she filed her income taxes, and did not tell her husband. Also she said she began selling $5000.00 worth of cosmetics in a month (in a community that wore no cosmetics). She did this to supply her and her childrens necessities, yet her husband never suspected... I do not believe this. --- She said she was 32 months along, that she was not far enough along in her pregnancy for the baby to be viable, and that she had 2 more months to carry him. Huh? --- In one section of the book she said it was required for all adults were required to wear the long underwear. Elsewhere she said that only 20% of them wore the long underwear. --- She said throughout the book that sex during pregnancy was not allowed, but that her husband had sex with her. Then later she said, "A decree went into effect banning sex during pregnancy, and women started losing their husbands because they stopped having sex with them when they were pregnant". --- She said that new rules said a man was under no obligation to sleep with any wife he didn't plan on getting pregnant, and so the men chose their favorite wives and locked in a caste system with the others. But, according to how she talked all through the book, this was nothing new, but what had been going on all along. --- She said there was a decree that women weren't allowed to travel alone without a man, and that they would be pulled over by the police for doing so - yet she constantly talked of herself driving everywhere. How? - Late in the book she said that she had to make herself start driving again, cause she said she had not really done so since her accident, yet earlier in the book she had talked about her fear of driving after the accident, but then talked over and over of driving to various medical appointments. Again, contradiction. And apparently she was never stopped for being a woman alone, or for driving without plates on her car, as she said the women's cars were. How did she get by with this? --- She said "No one ever abused the kids when I was home, yet no one ever knew when I was gone". I found this comment to be absolutely asinine, since she had described numerous times of being gone for prolonged periods with her sons illness - sometimes for days or weeks at a time. How could anyone not know she was gone? Duh? --- She always said "everyone in the house was required to come to prayer - or else", yet Cathleen did not. Another contradiction. --- When talking about her sons illness, at one point she said, "It has been nearly a year since he got sick", then when plainly quite some time had passed, she again said, "It has been nearly a year since he got sick". What? --- Another statement I found really asinine, was when she said, "If Merril found out I had told the truth to anyone outside the community I would have been sentenced to hell in the afterlife and shunned in the community". She had long made plans to leave anyway, so she supposedly had made the choice with these issues, so why the big `poor me' about these issues. --- She always said she hated her husband, but still she sat next to him 2 times on a trip when she knew how much that upset one of her sister-wives. Why did she do that? --- Earlier in the book she said her father never cared, yet towards the end of the book she said "his children mattered very much to him".--- Another thing, there were always so many impossible, or definitely extremely unlikely coincidences. It just seemed like more ways to add `drama' or create her own `specialness'. It definitely seemed like she thought she was really special, that the rules did not apply to her, and she took no responsibility at all for anything. I do believe that most of the things really happened, but I felt that (everything) was written (way over the top), the utmost drama, and she was the queen of it all. I did feel for what she went through, but the drama and self-rightiousness got to me.
  
  

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