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"Flora Jessop's story is raw, courageous, riveting, and a real eye-opener. Once you start reading, you can't put it down. Church of Lies is one more compelling reason why polygamy should not be decriminalized."
—John R. Llewellyn, author, Polygamy's Rape of Rachael Strong: Protected Environment for Predators
"This is an important book that sheds light on an ultra-authoritarian secretive community in our midst. Flora Jessop spares no punches in telling her story and describing life in the FLDS, especially the hazards for women and children. But no matter how cruel and oppressive the setting, Jessop was able to break free and help others do the same. A must-read for anyone interested in children's rights, victims' rights, and just plain human decency."
—Janja Lalich, PhD, author, Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships; coauthor with Margaret Singer, Cults in our Midst
"Risking her life, Flora Jessop has become a folk hero for her defense of countless victims of abuses perpetrated within the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints community. Her own struggle to free herself of its constraints is remarkable; her advocacy for those who are attempting to leave is inspirational."
—Dr. Stephen A. Kent, professor, Department of Sociology andInterdisciplinary Program in Religious Studies, University of Alberta
"Alternating between grit and childlike innocence, Flora Jessop's story is both difficult to read and impossible to put down. She reveals the truth about the secret fundamentalist Mormon FLDS for all to see and skillfully exposes the real dangers that lurk within this twisted religious system."
—Natalie R. Collins, author, Wives and Sisters and Behind Closed Doors
It is difficult for any person not affiliated with a group like the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) to imagine the motivation for living in such a system. Jessop grew up within the strictures of the FLDS cult, subjected to its forced marriages and rampant sexual abuse. Her story is a harrowing but inspiring account of one woman's determination to break free. She relates in rather stark terms the horror of growing up in the polygamous community, the many pleasures she was denied as a child as her elders pursued a pseudo-holiness, forbidding the joys of childhood but engaging in horrible acts of pedophilia. Following her own liberation, she has worked tirelessly and fearlessly to liberate those who want out of the group. Readers will be repelled at some of what Jessop has to say, but in the end, they will be heartened by her efforts to free others in the grip of the FLDS leadership.A (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.In this autobiography, Jessop chronicles her upbringing in a polygamist community and her eventual escape and crusade to rescue other women from plural marriages and abuse. A former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and controversial antipolygamy activist, Jessop, with the help of Brown (coauthor, Escape in Iraq), tells her story unevenly, finely detailing certain events and glossing over others. Her unorthodox childhood is well documented, and her tales of brainwashing, kidnapping, and physical, mental, and emotional abuse are harrowing. Later chapters detail her rebellion against the FLDS, her marriage to her cousin at age 16, her fight to rescue her sister from the church, and her battle against church and state authorities on behalf of women living in polygamist societies. Jessop's story is gripping and her work admirable, but the writing is choppy and slightly formulaic. The dialog is stilted, and Jessop, despite her passion, does not come across as a particularly sympathetic figure. Nonetheless, the story is compelling and timely and will be of interest to some public library audiences.
—Julie Biando Edwards
Introduction: My Name Is Flora Jessop.
Part One: Pligville.
1. The End of Innocence.
2. Home Sweet Home.
3. The Rape.
4. The Great Escape.
5. Little Runaway.
6. The Prisoner.
Part Two: Apostate.
7. Married.
8. Gone for Good.
9. No Boundaries.
10. The End of the Road.
11. Shauna.
12. No One’s Property.
13. Family.
Part Three: Outlaw.
14. Ruby.
15. Lost and Found.
16. Changes.
17. Rescuing the Fawns.
18. Running Away Again.
19. Laurene.
20. No Sympathy for the Devil.
Part Four: No More Pain.
21. Fighting On.
Epilogue.
Notes.
About the Authors.
Index.
thasista
Posted January 19, 2011
This is a disturbing book to read and infuriates me that activity is tolerated in this country. I was deeply moved. The writer kept me on the edge of my seat and ready to get involved!
If you want to know more inside information on what life is like on the inside of a polygamist cult and efforts to extricate oneself from it, this book is for you!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book was really, really interesting. Flora Jessop is a hero that had to claw her way out of her severely abusive polygamist upbringing. This book takes you through her struggles, starting when she was only eight years old. I do have to say, some of the scenes in this book are heart breaking and extremely graphic. But in my opinion, they did serve their purpose. This book will open your eyes to the absolute horrors that go on EVERY DAY in this cult. The awful things that are ignored, accepted, or even celebrated. The disgusting practices regarding marrying children off to old men, kicking boys out of the community for the sole reason that they are competition to the old men, and the rampant child molestation that happens to the children living there. All from a woman that lived it first hand.
This book was definitely worth the read.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.When I first read this book it took me a few chapters to realize that, yes, polygamy is WRONG on multiple levels but for some it is all they know from the time they are born until they die. For those strong enough to want something else, it takes a lot to break free of this life. In some cases, it becomes a literal war or manhunt. I recommend this book to people that wish to know what really goes on in America behind closed doors and get a "through the eyes" look at a woman who escaped this horrible life.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 17, 2012
I was unprepared for this books crass language and vulgar wording! The aweful enough facts (?) relayed could have been handled with dignity and class but instead come off as cheap sensationalism - perhaps even total fiction. Very disapointing!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 17, 2012
I was half way through the book and there is a glitch! The rest of the book is pages 121-123. Over and over and over again. What a crock!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Church of Lies is a great read! If you are interested in learning about the inner lives of the FLDS, this is the book for you :)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.BonnieS
Posted February 6, 2012
Another saga of the life of women (and men) in the FLDS, and how difficult it is to escape and adjust to life on the outside. Wonderfully told.
BonnieS
Anonymous
Posted January 17, 2012
THIS IS A SAD, BUT CAPTIVATING STORY!!!!!! A MUST READ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!! YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.PVF
Posted August 15, 2011
This author is incredibly courageous and has carried out a one-woman campaign to reveal the corruption, lies, misogyny and basic male piggishness of the men who run the FLDS, which proves to be no better than David Koresh's group or other cults that have splintered away from mainline denominations. If there's one book you should read to understand the entire phenomenon of wife and child abuse, this is the one. It's also timely in that Warren Jeffs has been sent to prison, and he is a key figure in the book.
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Posted May 19, 2010
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Praise for Church of Lies"Flora Jessop's story is raw, courageous, riveting, and a real eye-opener. Once you start reading, you can't put it down. Church of Lies is one more compelling reason why polygamy should not be decriminalized."
—John R. Llewellyn, author, Polygamy's Rape of Rachael Strong: Protected Environment for Predators
"This is an important book that sheds light on an ultra-authoritarian secretive community in our midst. Flora Jessop spares no punches in telling her story and describing life in the FLDS, especially the hazards for women and children. But no matter how cruel and oppressive the setting, Jessop was able to break free and help others do the same. A must-read ...