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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
From the point of view of a female escapee of the FLDS cult - which commits atrocities against children & women. Reads like a novel. Rebecca Musser's story explains the sad culture of brainwashing & it's implications for abuse.
Very dry, but also very informative. I learned a lot--perhaps more than I wanted to know--about the extremist FLDS and their beliefs. I feel there is more to Rebecca's story, and I'm curious as to how the rest of her life will be affected by her childhood and her role in the trials, but I also realize that being under such thorough public scrutiny is probably not beneficial to her personal relationships. I commend her for what she has done to free herself and to provide a chance to those who were still ensnared by the FLDS.
informative
medium-paced
"Never treat another in a manner which would make them feel small; not anyone, not even yourself."
Once again, here I am reviewing a book that wasn't even on my radar and I likely never would have read if it weren't for my book club. I really appreciate that we pick different genres every month so I'm able to branch out and read books that are outside of my comfort zone.
I will admit going in that I didn't know much about the FLDS prior to going into this book. I vaguely remember polygamous rings being disbanded when that was all over the news several years ago, but I didn't pay enough attention to have any memory of those stories when I picked this book up. This was not an uplifting read, by any means, but it was one that I'm glad I read. I have a much stronger understanding of the FLDS faith, although that view is pretty tainted by Rebecca's horrific stories from her time there. I honestly don't know how someone goes through everything Rebecca has gone through and comes out on the other side with a positive attitude and is able to adapt to life relatively normally.
This book tells Rebecca's whole history, starting with her childhood and growing up in the FLDS community. She goes through what her life was like when she was married off, how she escaped, and how she helped some of the really awful leaders receive the consequences they deserved for the horrific things they put other community members through.
TW: Pretty much everything? This book was tough. Here's a list of some of the main trigger warnings: underage marriage, rape, abuse - both physical and verbal, PTSD
Once again, here I am reviewing a book that wasn't even on my radar and I likely never would have read if it weren't for my book club. I really appreciate that we pick different genres every month so I'm able to branch out and read books that are outside of my comfort zone.
I will admit going in that I didn't know much about the FLDS prior to going into this book. I vaguely remember polygamous rings being disbanded when that was all over the news several years ago, but I didn't pay enough attention to have any memory of those stories when I picked this book up. This was not an uplifting read, by any means, but it was one that I'm glad I read. I have a much stronger understanding of the FLDS faith, although that view is pretty tainted by Rebecca's horrific stories from her time there. I honestly don't know how someone goes through everything Rebecca has gone through and comes out on the other side with a positive attitude and is able to adapt to life relatively normally.
This book tells Rebecca's whole history, starting with her childhood and growing up in the FLDS community. She goes through what her life was like when she was married off, how she escaped, and how she helped some of the really awful leaders receive the consequences they deserved for the horrific things they put other community members through.
TW: Pretty much everything? This book was tough. Here's a list of some of the main trigger warnings: underage marriage, rape, abuse - both physical and verbal, PTSD
Very interesting. Learned a lot about the FLDS... some of it I could have lived without knowing. Got a little preachy at the end.
I loved this book, couldn’t put it down! I read it because I listened to the author when she made an appearance on one of my favorite podcasts.
As a member of the LDS church I read this book hoping to understand a little about the flds church, told from the perspective of someone who had once lived that life. I learned a lot, it felt like parts of the book were too graphic for my taste. I would not recommend the book to many because of it's graphic nature, although I think the story that was told needs to be told.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
I know, I know, I know. You all probably need a break from the series of disturbing cult books, and I hear you. I get it. But lucky for me, I own this little space of zen, so I can obsess and rant and review to my morbid little heart’s content! For those of you who’ve had enough FLDS-cult-activist talk, please feel free to go ahead and click that little red x button at the top of left. For the rest of you, my iron willed allies in justice, I invite you to stay, read, commiserate.
AND THEN DO SOMETHING.
Of all the memoirs I’ve read by FLDS escapees, this is by far the most gentle. And by gentle, I mean gentle in everything. It was gentle toward her community, her home (much more forgiving and kind than other memoirs I’ve read). Gentle toward her family members and loved ones. Gentle, even, toward ill-equipped, under-prepared, and willfully ignorant government agencies that, time and time again, have failed to live up to the tasks entrusted to them. Even her language was gentle.
Soft spoken as she is, Musser’s true brilliance is in her ability to be both respectfully gentle and fiercely honest in the same breath. No easy task, eh?
And, using this impressive approach, Musser ultimately reveals a more complex, human truth than has been discussed before. Despite the plethora of harsh, intensely critical pieces, Musser is able to highlight that there are in fact two sides to every story. For every well-meaning CPS worker there’s a terrified and confused family. For every arrest and conviction, there are difficult religious and familial ramifications. For every abuser, there’s a genuinely healthy mother/father/sister/brother. For every sorrow, there is a modicum of happiness.
I think Musser would likely agree, however, that there’s a time to shelve the gentle and bring out the fierce. Acknowledging humanity in us all is admirable and productive, but that revelation does not warrant total amnesty for despicable behavior. Particularly behavior that involves brainwashing an entire community of thousands to believe that sexual abuse, rape, underage marriage, child neglect, abandonment, tax evasion, welfare fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, kidnapping, illegal eviction, and hostage holding is God’s will and their only salvation.
Yeah, I’m looking at you, Warren Jeffs. You are NOT EXCUSED.
So my nerdy, compassionate, bookworm allies, I again invite and challenge you to action.
Do anything. Take a stand, pull up a chair. Listen. LISTEN. Read, inform. Offer a hand, a blanket, a home, a refuge. Make a friend, be a mentor, learn a culture, learn a language. Donate. Give time, give money, give love, give service. Embody compassion, empathy, hope. Reject ignorance, ask hard questions, get mad, stay present. Petition the government, create accountability. Fight the man, the system, the oppressor. Heal the hurt, bring people with you into better worlds.
What else were you going to do today, anyway?
Because really, who needs Grey’s Anatomy when you have one short, itty bitty life to make this world a better place?
Hop to it, kids. Hop to it.
AND THEN DO SOMETHING.
Of all the memoirs I’ve read by FLDS escapees, this is by far the most gentle. And by gentle, I mean gentle in everything. It was gentle toward her community, her home (much more forgiving and kind than other memoirs I’ve read). Gentle toward her family members and loved ones. Gentle, even, toward ill-equipped, under-prepared, and willfully ignorant government agencies that, time and time again, have failed to live up to the tasks entrusted to them. Even her language was gentle.
Soft spoken as she is, Musser’s true brilliance is in her ability to be both respectfully gentle and fiercely honest in the same breath. No easy task, eh?
And, using this impressive approach, Musser ultimately reveals a more complex, human truth than has been discussed before. Despite the plethora of harsh, intensely critical pieces, Musser is able to highlight that there are in fact two sides to every story. For every well-meaning CPS worker there’s a terrified and confused family. For every arrest and conviction, there are difficult religious and familial ramifications. For every abuser, there’s a genuinely healthy mother/father/sister/brother. For every sorrow, there is a modicum of happiness.
I think Musser would likely agree, however, that there’s a time to shelve the gentle and bring out the fierce. Acknowledging humanity in us all is admirable and productive, but that revelation does not warrant total amnesty for despicable behavior. Particularly behavior that involves brainwashing an entire community of thousands to believe that sexual abuse, rape, underage marriage, child neglect, abandonment, tax evasion, welfare fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, kidnapping, illegal eviction, and hostage holding is God’s will and their only salvation.
Yeah, I’m looking at you, Warren Jeffs. You are NOT EXCUSED.
So my nerdy, compassionate, bookworm allies, I again invite and challenge you to action.
Do anything. Take a stand, pull up a chair. Listen. LISTEN. Read, inform. Offer a hand, a blanket, a home, a refuge. Make a friend, be a mentor, learn a culture, learn a language. Donate. Give time, give money, give love, give service. Embody compassion, empathy, hope. Reject ignorance, ask hard questions, get mad, stay present. Petition the government, create accountability. Fight the man, the system, the oppressor. Heal the hurt, bring people with you into better worlds.
What else were you going to do today, anyway?
Because really, who needs Grey’s Anatomy when you have one short, itty bitty life to make this world a better place?
Hop to it, kids. Hop to it.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Heartbeaking true story and amazingly done could read multiple times