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A while back, my friend Stephanie had told me the story of her friend, Anna LeBaron. It was a touching story and I was at the edge of my seat listening to her. Soon after, she called me to tell me that Anna was going to write a book about her life. Well, here we are today and not only did she write a book, but she wrote a book that is flying off the shelves because others are as touched as I was. Her book is The Polygamist’s Daughter.
“My father had more than fifty children.” So begins the haunting memoir of Anna LeBaron, daughter of the notorious polygamist and murderer Ervil LeBaron. With her father wanted by the FBI for killing anyone who tried to leave his cult–a radical branch of Mormonism–Anna and her siblings were constantly on the run with the other sister-wives.
Often starving and always desperate, the children lived in terror. Even though there were dozens of them together, Anna always felt alone. She escaped when she was thirteen . . . but the nightmare was far from over.A shocking true story of murder, fear, and betrayal, The Polygamist’s Daughter is also the heart-cry of a fatherless girl and her search for love, faith, and a safe place to call home.” ~ goodreads.com
Anna recounts her life and how she left in the 1980’s. She was born to one of the Ervil wives, but rarely saw her father. Her family moved often. Anna was made to spend a year in Mexico (to avoid federal agents) with clan members (away from her mother) and then returned to Houston.
Finally, the death of her father let her flee the abuse that she had been enduring for so long. She had the help of one of her half-sisters.
Post-polygomy, she was born again and had her own children. She had a hard time, even eating mayonnaise sandwiches or refried bean sandwiches to fill her empty stomach. One of her jobs included cleaning roaches off of appliances and asking kids to dig through dumpsters for clothes. To know that she has come out as a survivor is inspirational.
So, when I was asked to write a compensated review on the book, I called my friend and said “I am about to read your friend’s book and write about it” and she was so excited. She told me to call her the minute that I finished it… which happened to be two days later. Hahaha!
This book is pretty heart-breaking at times and really opens your eyes to what is going on past our own front doors.
