Escape by Carolyn Jessop

What to say about this book other than scary???? Seriously, this is one of those books that makes me thank my lucky stars for everything that I have including my parents, family, and the life that I was born into. Sometimes it is as simple as that. And books like this make me remember to appreciate what I have.

This is Carolyn Jessop's memoir of growing up and living in the FLDS (otherwise known as Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). The FLDS is a closed off religious group that keep to themselves and their community and are an offshoot of the Morman church. At 18, Carolyn was told that she was meant to marry Merril Jessop and become his third wife. He was thirty-two years older than she was. Carolyn's marriage was an unhappy one that was basically a power struggle between all of Merril's wives with Carolyn caught up in the mix even when she didn't want to be. It would take years before Carolyn would begin to realize that the religion and life that she grew up with might not be the life that she truly wanted. And it would take everything Carolyn had to escape.

Wow! That is all I had to say after reading this one. I can't even begin to imagine all of the things that this woman has had to endure...it is just too much. First of all, being told who you are going to marry, having no choice or say in the matter, it is almost too difficult to fathom. And how sad to go into a marriage and know that you may never love the person you are married to. Carolyn's marriage was a constant struggle from the beginning. All of Merril's wives were constantly competing for his attention which just made me a bit sick. Sex and the number of children that a woman had gave them status within their marriage. In other words, the more kids you had in comparison to the other wives gave a woman a better standing in this society and within her "family". Pretty scary in my opinion. Carolyn had no say in the life that she led and was constantly told what she could or couldn't do. And when Warren Jeffs came to power, things in the FLDS got even worse. Carolyn is very frank in the book and shares the reasons why she was content with living there for so long. I mean she grew up thinking that all of this was normal, was taught that the "outside world" was evil and meant for an apocalypse, and that she was one of the "chosen ones" by God. It took her a really long time before she began to think differently and realize that she wanted something else for her and her children. I must say that I think that Carolyn Jessop is an amazing woman!

All in all, one of those books that really makes you think. About the life you live and the freedoms that we have. Because not everyone has these freedoms so for me this kind of book makes me appreciate my everyday life just a little bit more.

Disclosure- Checked out from my local library.

*I read this book for the following challenges:

Women Unbound Challenge

Social Justice Challenge

100+ Reading Challenge

Support Your Library Reading Challenge

New Author Challenge

"E" Title for A-Z Challenge (personal)

Forever Lily by Beth Nonte Russell

Forever Lily is a memoir that begins with Beth Nonte Russell traveling with her friend Alex to China. Alex is going to China to bring home the daughter that she is adopting and asks to Beth to go along with her. Before and during the trip, Beth has vivid dreams of living in China in a past life. Unfortunately, once they have the baby Alex begins withdrawing from her and Beth begins caring for the baby instead. And then comes the time when Alex says she can't take the baby and has changed her mind. Beth has a decision to make and this book takes us through her journey as she realized that she cannot leave the baby behind.
Wow! I had strong feelings about this book but it pulled me into two different directions. The journey that Beth takes the reader on, that she actually experienced for herself is amazing. She shares the horrors of seeing the orphanage where the baby was living and hard it was to walk away from the children living there. It is easy to understand how and why she grows attached to the baby and to see the reasoning on why she doesn't want to leave the baby behind. Also the difficulties she faces with Alex are portrayed which was interesting to read about as well.
On the other hand, I had a hard time with this book at the beginning because of our different belief systems (I guess that is the best way to put it). The author obviously believes in past lives and believes that she was from China in a previous life. She shared her "dreams" that she was having and they were very vivid and detailed. I had a hard time reconciling this until I finally just let go. I decided to read the book with more of the opinion that this was her beliefs and even if I was skeptical to just read and enjoy. Once I did that I enjoyed the book much more and found the author's story much more satisfying.
All in all, I enjoyed this story especially as I am a mother myself. The ending of this memoir was immensely satisfying and I'm glad that I gave this book a try. Thanks to the author for sending me this one to review!
My Rating: 4 out of 5