In September 2007, a packed courtroom in St. George, Utah, sat hushed as Elissa Wall, the star witness against polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, gave captivating testimony of how Jeffs forced her to marry her first cousin at age fourteen. This harrowing and vivid account proved to be the most compelling evidence against Jeffs, showing the harsh realities of this closed community and the lengths that Jeffs went to in order to control the women in it. Now, in this courageous memoir, Elissa Wall tells her incredible and inspirational story of her time in the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), detailing how she emerged from its confines to help bring one of America's most notorious criminals to justice.In case you did not know (I did not,) Elissa Wall was the main witness in the 2007 trial that ended with Warren Jeffs (FLDS prophet) with two 5yrs -life sentences for being an accomplice to rape. Nearly 3 years later, this ruling was overturned by the Utah Supreme Court... This book was long, but very very good. In it, Elissa talks about her childhood, and how her family was constantly being torn apart. At the age of 14, she was forced to marry her first cousin - aged 19. Because I have read so many books/ watched shows, etc. on the subject of polygamy, most everything that I read in this book was not new news to me. On thing that stood our to me as shocking (but not that shocking, I mean, look who we are talking about here...) was how once Rulon Jeffs (Warren's father, and prophet up until the time of his death) was basically being controlled by his son. He had suffered a stroke (or two, not sure,) and as a result, his son started saying that he was speaking for his father, the prophet. I am sure he was, much of the time. But there are several accounts in the book that describe other people witnessing the father saying one thing, and the son saying something else, and then proclaiming that it came from the prophet... Yuck:/ Eliss'a story is a sad story, but I am thrilled that she retained enough of *herself* to continue to question things, even after being married at the age of 14. It is evident that her stubborness is what has led her to where she is today. It is truly amazing that she was able to get out of the FLDS when she did. Had she had children with this man, it could have gotten much harder, and been more difficult for her to leave. I don't really know the right word to use here, but this book (as opposed to Carolyn Jessop's stories,) had more of an effect on me... I could relate more... somthing like that, but not quite... because the author is several months younger than me! I read through the book, able to think of what was going on in *my* life at the time these things were happening to this young girl... Makes me feel very very VERY blessed to have been born into the family that I was born into, and not into the FLDS, which is not all that far from where we live to begin with...Before reading this book and Jessop's book, I was really pretty unaware of the current FLDS situation. It makes me so sad to think of all the people still living in these conditions...
Book Count : 6
Word Count : 1653
