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310 reviews for:
The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice
M. Bridget Cook, Rebecca Musser
4.01 AVERAGE
310 reviews for:
The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice
M. Bridget Cook, Rebecca Musser
4.01 AVERAGE
This isn't the best written book, but it's not bad for a ghostwritten memoir. And the subject is fascinating.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
The Witness Wore Red was my book club's pick for the month about a woman who grew up in Mormon fundamentalist sect and her story of leaving her faith and family and then helping prosecute the corrupted leaders of the religion for years. This was a hard read as a lot of really awful things happened to her and other people in the religion. I realized partway through that I actually read the author's sisters book Stolen Innocence many years ago which was even worse of a story.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse
Wow, just wow. The depravity with which one person can treat others is appalling. This book is an important look into not just cult infuencers, but any religious or leader of an organization.
Fascinating, hard to put down. Completely creepy and disgusting, too. I remember hearing the news about the YFZ raids on a drive to the airport in 2008 and it was really interesting to find out so much more about what was going on there.
Horribly fascinating. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (NOT the Fundamentalist sect Warren Jeffs leads), it was interesting to see the parallels between this group and the religion I believe to be true. Horrible to see how men have twisted what the Prophets and scriptures have said to allow them to rule with their iron fists. Rebecca's courage is amazing. Jeffs and his father's actions are horribly disgusting. This book really made me think how far I would go before questioning the words and actions of my Prophet (who I believe to be led by God).
Yes, it another book about polygamy - I just can't get enough! Rebecca was in the FLDS like Carolyn Jessop (who wrote Escape and Triumph. In fact, Rebecca knew Carolyn before Carolyn escaped from the FLDS a few years before Rebecca did. However, Rebecca was more of an FLDS insider since she was the 19th wife of FDLS prophet Rulon Jeffs, which made her one of Warren Jeff's mothers, even though he's at least twenty years older than her. She also taught at the FLDS school where Warren was the principal so she knew him pretty well.
Since Rebecca was one of the key witnesses for the prosecution in several trials of FLDS members, including Warren Jeffs, she learned even more details about Warren's horrible crimes than what she already knew from living in the FLDS community. I remember when the compound was raided, the country was divided in opinion on whether or not all of the children should have been removed. I myself had mixed feelings about it. Had I known what I know after reading this book, I would have been much more on the side of removing the poor things. Although there was plenty of media coverage about the raid, I don't recall a lot of coverage of the trials, which is unfortunate.
It's been a couple of years since I've read Carolyn Jessop's book - now I'd like to go back and re-read it since her FLDS husband was a major player in this book, although it was after she left. I found it interesting that while Carolyn Jessop has pretty much rejected and distains anything connected with the FLDS, Rebecca still seems a bit more sympathetic towards the people affected by the raids that weren't directly connected to Warren Jeffs. She is also still very connected to God, although it's certainly a different interpretation of God than the one she grew up with.
If you are intrigued by polygamy, like me, then this is a book you need to add to your reading list. But even if you aren't particularly and you just like memoirs and/or true crime, then this is a good book for you.
Since Rebecca was one of the key witnesses for the prosecution in several trials of FLDS members, including Warren Jeffs, she learned even more details about Warren's horrible crimes than what she already knew from living in the FLDS community. I remember when the compound was raided, the country was divided in opinion on whether or not all of the children should have been removed. I myself had mixed feelings about it. Had I known what I know after reading this book, I would have been much more on the side of removing the poor things. Although there was plenty of media coverage about the raid, I don't recall a lot of coverage of the trials, which is unfortunate.
It's been a couple of years since I've read Carolyn Jessop's book - now I'd like to go back and re-read it since her FLDS husband was a major player in this book, although it was after she left. I found it interesting that while Carolyn Jessop has pretty much rejected and distains anything connected with the FLDS, Rebecca still seems a bit more sympathetic towards the people affected by the raids that weren't directly connected to Warren Jeffs. She is also still very connected to God, although it's certainly a different interpretation of God than the one she grew up with.
If you are intrigued by polygamy, like me, then this is a book you need to add to your reading list. But even if you aren't particularly and you just like memoirs and/or true crime, then this is a good book for you.
Interesting and appalling look into FDLS cult. I remember when this raid was going on and how the media twisted it. Im sad to say I might have also had a thought or two that the government might be butting into religious matters where they did not belong. I could not have been more wrong. There are parts of this book that are horrific. You can see the pictures on line that they discuss in the book. These poor broken people led astray by such criminals using the name of God to do it. The judgment will be severe. Amen.
I thought Rebecca's story was well told. I do think she could have left out a bit of her personal breakdowns. When they were so closely accompanied by the arguments where her husband accuses her of being a drama queen, it seems almost plausible. There seems to be a lot of "I finally burst into tears" moments. I could have done without that, but I do not disparage her. Im sure most people would have had trouble holding it together for so long. I certainly applaud this book for whatever light it can shed on the cult that is still very active even today!
I thought Rebecca's story was well told. I do think she could have left out a bit of her personal breakdowns. When they were so closely accompanied by the arguments where her husband accuses her of being a drama queen, it seems almost plausible. There seems to be a lot of "I finally burst into tears" moments. I could have done without that, but I do not disparage her. Im sure most people would have had trouble holding it together for so long. I certainly applaud this book for whatever light it can shed on the cult that is still very active even today!
I've been on an audiobook binge lately. This book taught me so much about the FDLS cult/community that I never knew. I've lived in Utah my whole life, and while I'm not LDS most of my family and friends are. I hate that FLDS and LDS get combined into one group from people unfamiliar with the Mormon church. I have never met a LDS person who would be okay with any of the things that were exposed in this book. With that being said, this book was fascinating and horribly sad. These things were happening in neighborhoods nearby. People were forced to do unthinkable things for "God" and their prophet. It's disgusting and heartbreaking.