Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Breaking Free: How I Escaped My Father-Warren Jeffs-Polygamy, and the FLDS Cult by Rachel Jeffs

25 reviews

chloesbooked's review against another edition

5.0

This woman could be one of the bravest women to share her story for the world. Rachel Jeffs, one of the many daughters of Warren Jeffs, shares her story of surviving and leaving the manipulative church known as the FLDS. She was abused as a child, then forced into a marriage. She then endured more pain at the hands of her father, the leader of the FLDS church, even after his arrest. Her bravery and resilience was inspiring to say the least!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

lignjahal's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

4.5/5.0

I find this autobiography to be a stunningly honest reflection on surviving abuse, a cult, and the trauma that comes with it. The audiobook is greatly benefitted by having the author read the book. There is no hiding away from Warren Jeff’s’ actions and the impacts he had with Rachel Blackmore’s words and tones. Her prayer for her family at the end of the book hits hard, but I hope it continues to reach her family until the FLDS is gone forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

lmsturch's review against another edition

challenging dark informative fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

hallie_hey's review against another edition

dark informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

This book is a raw portrayal of living within a religious cult that gives you little-to-no control over your own life. I applaud Rachel Jeffs' vulnerability and bravery for writing this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

erinwolf1997's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

kaylinvm94's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

alite428's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sgrizzle's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

4.0

This had been on my list for a while as I’ve had a morbid curiosity about the FLDS for years. I’ve read a couple of other memoirs, but watching the docuseries on Netflix and Discovery Plus both funnily enough called Keep Sweet, I was ready to start this book by one of Warren Jeff’s own children. (Side note: the two docuseries are really different but good complements actually. Watch the Netflix one first for the overall info, then the Discovery Plus one to find out more about actual life there and what is happening now.)

The abuse laid out in this story is horrific and graphic. It is not an easy read at all and I give strong content warnings to anyone who finds reading about child abuse difficult. As an outsider it is so hard to understand why people stay in a life like this, but Rachel does a good job of showing how the total indoctrination keeps everyone literally terrified for their souls. Writing-wise, it can be hard to follow all of the names of people here, there are just so many siblings and cousins and leaders and etc. But that’s a by-product of polygamy I guess lol. The constant moving was also confusing- a map with place names might have been useful.

Overall if you are interested in the FLDS this first-person account is a vital resource, but just know that Warren Jeffs is evil in literally every single way possible and singularly focused on destroying his followers. The strength of those who break free is truly inspiring.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

lelyreads's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Car accident

linddykal's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting