Hidden Wives follows the journey of two young girls forced to grow up in a polygamist community where religion is distorted to justify rampant abuse, incest, misogyny and the taking of child brides.
Fifteen-year-old Sara and her beautiful sister, Rachel, are too young to legally drive a car, but are approaching spinsterhood in Utah’s secret polygamist Blood of the Lamb community. Having long since reached the “age of preparedness,” they will soon be married off to much older men selected by the hidden sect’s revered Prophet.
As Sara, chosen to become her uncle’s fifth wife, grows more distraught over her impending incestuous marriage, she begins to scrutinize the faith she has followed blindly her entire life.
But for Rachel, who will be married to one of the many powerful community leaders vying for her hand, disobeying the Prophet means eternal damnation. Her friendship with the newest member of the community, the young and handsome Luke, starts as an attempt to save his agnostic soul, but ends with the pair falling helplessly in love. When Rachel is forbidden to see him, her absolute faith in the Prophet is severely tested.
When Rachel’s future husband is finally announced, violence erupts, and the girls must find the strength to escape the only life they have ever known… before it’s too late.
My Take on the Book: Whoa! This book captivated my attention from the first page where it started of " For as long as Sara could remember, she jolted awake every morning, startled to be alive." and all away until the last sentence where "...."Sara's cheeks were pink and her hair was spun silk, framing a face that was mantled in joy."
Those few sentences don't seem captivating by themselves but they led me into a drama-filled life of those living in a polygamist cult. It was heart-wrenching to read about the life of Sara and Rachel, two young sisters, living in the cult as well as other women, children and men. The words drew you into their lives and the brain-washing that leads them into believing this way of life is their way of salvation. Adults who lead children into these acts are also brain-washed into believe this is the way of faith.
This book takes you through one society; the good, the bad and the ugly of such life. Two children, Sara and Rachel, were able to break free from this life which in turn lead to the breakdown of this cult. I had much empathy for most members of this cult. It is a brain-washing that leads to this type of group. I felt awful for previous thoughts of judging those who I have seen that are obviously into one of these cults. This is a well written book and I highly recommend being read.
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Thanks to TLC Book Tours for including me in this book! The words expressed on My Take of the book are of my own tasty words and opinions. They will send a book to One of my readers. Click the link and order from Amazon. They have it at a great price. I'm an Amazon Affiliate.
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The James Jones cult comes to my mind.
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I follow by google reader.
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I entered the cookbook giveaway.
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When I think of polygamist cults, I think of women wearing long plain dresses.
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I learned that the authors are two sisters. #1
ReplyDeleteI learned that the authors are two sisters. #2
ReplyDeleteI learned that the authors are two sisters. #3
ReplyDeleteI learned that the authors are two sisters. #4
ReplyDeleteI learned that the authors are two sisters. #5
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ReplyDeleteHey Susan!! I loved how your take on the book started with "Whoa!" LOL I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it and highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for being on the tour!
I follow by GFC.
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I think of the girls who are missing out on their childhoods. I hate that they would lose that.
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From the author's website, I learned that the FLDS still arrange marriages between young girls and older men.
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I also entered the Contest for "Hearts on a String".
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What I think of when hearing of polygamy is the show "Big Love" on HBO...I've grown to love that show! Please enter me.
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I found out that Claire Avery is actually a pseudonym for two sisters that wrote this book...fascinating!
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i read the book 'the chosen' by carol lynch williams...also about polygamy.
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kmkuka at yahoo dot com
the author(s) are actually 2 sisters...writing as one.
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i follow...rrs ;)
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I think of all the polygamy-related books that are coming out these days.
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I think there may be a problem with Claire Avery's website... It brigns up a resume for margaret gerhart?
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I blogged about your giveaway here for another entry.
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It just sounds like a sad & lonely life.
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When I hear about a polygamist cult, I automatically think of the Mormans in Salt Lake City, and a lot of recent contraversy surrounding young 'brides' trying to break away.
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Something I read on the author's website is that they had a book signing in Texas in June.
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2. I read on the author's website that there was a book signing event in Texas in June, but there are no current ones.
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3 I read on the author's website that there was a book signing event in Texas in June, but there are no current ones.
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4 I read on the author's website that there was a book signing event in Texas in June, but there are no current ones.
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5 I read on the author's website that there was a book signing event in Texas in June, but there are no current ones.
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I follow your blog on GFC
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2 I follow your blog on GFC
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3 I follow your blog on GFC
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I follow your RsS feed
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6 I follow your RSS feed
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