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ana3333 's review for:
As much respect and empathy as I have for Rachel, I have to say, this was not a well-written book. The author just sort of dispassionately lists a lot of horrible, awful things without providing any context about her emotional reactions or state of mind. You hear barely anything about her upbringing (other than the very graphic depictions of molestation), you don't know anything about her own personal motivations, and you don't really hear anything about the church's doctrine, culture, or traditions.
And without this context, you're basically just watching an empty-headed ninny stand by while her kids are starved, repeatedly almost die, and are physically abused for years (I don't actually think this is Rachel's true nature, but I'm just saying, this is how the book portrays her). The book doesn't really explain the pressure a person faces growing up in a cult, and it doesn't even make Rachel sound all that sad or upset about the many horrible things she's encountered.
The book would be a decent Wikipedia article documenting the bare bones of what happened in the FLDS inner circle, but it's not a good memoir that explains why a rational, remotely compassionate person would go along with it. I initially complained about how long Elissa Wall's memoir on the same topic was, but I've gotta say, Elissa does a way better of a job at explaining the mental and emotional pressure of growing up FLDS and describing how hard it is to leave.
And without this context, you're basically just watching an empty-headed ninny stand by while her kids are starved, repeatedly almost die, and are physically abused for years (I don't actually think this is Rachel's true nature, but I'm just saying, this is how the book portrays her). The book doesn't really explain the pressure a person faces growing up in a cult, and it doesn't even make Rachel sound all that sad or upset about the many horrible things she's encountered.
The book would be a decent Wikipedia article documenting the bare bones of what happened in the FLDS inner circle, but it's not a good memoir that explains why a rational, remotely compassionate person would go along with it. I initially complained about how long Elissa Wall's memoir on the same topic was, but I've gotta say, Elissa does a way better of a job at explaining the mental and emotional pressure of growing up FLDS and describing how hard it is to leave.