Marsha Woerner reviewed Stolen innocence by Elissa Wall
Review of 'Stolen innocence' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Wow! Very enlightening about the whole Warren Jeffs situation and the degradation and dismissal the girls had to endure. It concentrated on a somewhat different aspect than what was emphasized in the media here in the Midwest. It would appear that the major criticism was NOT the multiple wives issue; and it was not specifically that Warren Jeffs himself forced young girls to marry him. It was more that overall control over the entire group. He DID force young girls to marry, but not specifically to marry him. And subtle brainwashing was a great part of his control.
I did find it interesting that those who ended up leaving the cult, (mostly men to a great extent because it's not sustainable to have equal numbers of men and women in a society in which each man is granted many women) did not give up the underlying religion of Mormonism – …
Wow! Very enlightening about the whole Warren Jeffs situation and the degradation and dismissal the girls had to endure. It concentrated on a somewhat different aspect than what was emphasized in the media here in the Midwest. It would appear that the major criticism was NOT the multiple wives issue; and it was not specifically that Warren Jeffs himself forced young girls to marry him. It was more that overall control over the entire group. He DID force young girls to marry, but not specifically to marry him. And subtle brainwashing was a great part of his control.
I did find it interesting that those who ended up leaving the cult, (mostly men to a great extent because it's not sustainable to have equal numbers of men and women in a society in which each man is granted many women) did not give up the underlying religion of Mormonism – or theology in general. And I suppose that as an outsider looking in, I am being unfair to judge, but how, after years of having someone claim to be a "profit" spreading the word of "God", people can still believe in and trust that "God" boggles my mind!
But I thought the book was good. It reacted out how totally ensconced a group can be in amazingly horrid and self-deprecating cults and beliefs. Lisi, the main character and writer, displayed great strength and bravery in getting out and in trying to protect her younger sisters. Heavy sigh and great amounts of hope!
Merged review:
Wow! Very enlightening about the whole Warren Jeffs situation and the degradation and dismissal the girls had to endure. It concentrated on a somewhat different aspect than what was emphasized in the media here in the Midwest. It would appear that the major criticism was NOT the multiple wives issue; and it was not specifically that Warren Jeffs himself forced young girls to marry him. It was more that overall control over the entire group. He DID force young girls to marry, but not specifically to marry him. And subtle brainwashing was a great part of his control.
I did find it interesting that those who ended up leaving the cult, (mostly men to a great extent because it's not sustainable to have equal numbers of men and women in a society in which each man is granted many women) did not give up the underlying religion of Mormonism – or theology in general. And I suppose that as an outsider looking in, I am being unfair to judge, but how, after years of having someone claim to be a "profit" spreading the word of "God", people can still believe in and trust that "God" boggles my mind!
But I thought the book was good. It reacted out how totally ensconced a group can be in amazingly horrid and self-deprecating cults and beliefs. Lisi, the main character and writer, displayed great strength and bravery in getting out and in trying to protect her younger sisters. Heavy sigh and great amounts of hope!
