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| His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy | 
 enlarge | Author: Susan Ray Schmidt
Publisher: Kassidy Lane Publishing LLC
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $11.50
You Save: $8.45 (42%)
New (22) Used (20) Collectible (1) from $8.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  81 reviews
Sales Rank: 8528
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 445
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 097797300X
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780977973002
ASIN: 097797300X
Publication Date: June 15, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
An autobiographical doozy! March 31, 2008
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Let's get right to it: this highly recommended book is an autobiographical doozy. Billed as a true story of violent fanaticism, this is the tale of Susan Ray, who was raised by a loving family in Colonia LeBaron in Mexico and who in 1968 married Verlan LeBaron one week after her 15th birthday. He was some 30 years her senior. Susan was Verlan's 6th wife. More wives would soon follow.
Filled with teenage romanticism, Susan, true to her age at the beginning of this story, is in love with love. She is swept off her feet by the twinkling blue eyes of Verlan, one of the brothers at the pinnacle of the LeBaron fundamentalist Mormon sect. Polygamy is common--even expected--in this isolated world, and Susan looks forward to having her own home with Verlan and close friendships with his other wives. This is God's will for her.
Things go down hill fast when Verlan moves her to Baja California where his other families live. One of her sisterwives is frequently cheerful and friendly; the others range from haughty to jealous and disdainful to blindly, seethingly angry. Verlan is oblivious. He works in Utah as a painting contractor and is away for weeks and months at a time either working or on church business. His random 2- or 3-day visits to his families mean that no wife ever gets enough time with him. Abject poverty barely describes how the wives and their manymanymany children live. (At the time of his death in 1981 in an auto accident, Verlan had fathered 57!)
In the midst of all this, trouble is brewing in the LeBaron sect. Ervil LeBaron, Verlan's brother, decides that he is the voice of God and that anyone who disagrees with him and his followers on anything must pay with his or her life. Yes, murder. Yes, kidnapping. Yes, pure mad fanaticism. And, yes, some of the Ervilites are still wanted by the FBI.
This book is a trip through the looking glass, a journey into an absolutely alien theology, a work that would be astonishing as fiction. As autobiography it is dumbfounding. The writing is as clear as a bell, the pacing excellent; Susan's voice never strikes a false note. How this uneducated, isolated young woman with 4 small children came to realize that the life they were living was not God's will and how she managed to escape polygamy and divorce Verlan in 1974 is absolutely gripping.
A MUST read! November 8, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I believe that this book will do for polygamy what Anne Frank & Corrie Ten Boom did for holocust victims. Susan is a gifted storyteller and her book reads like a novel rather than a typical autobiography. You pick up His Favorite Wife and are instantly transported into the world of polygamy and it is difficult to put it down (I read it in less than 24 hours). Any woman who has ever been in a marriage where you felt lonely & neglected, or has longed for more love and attention from her husband, will connect with the characters. If you are looking for a book for your book club that is a awesome read and as well produces thought provoking conversation, this book should be at the top of your list!
An interesting read that I couldn't put down July 22, 2007
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
This book was one that I couldn't put down. I needed to find out if Susan's husband was going to marry that girl, or if she really was going to move to Nicaragua. I could not believe the way in which the author lived in poverty while her husband continued to marry other girls. He relied on the older boy children to support the family. This opened my eyes to this way of life in an open and honest book. It was a book worth reading to expand the mind,
Excellent Book! Very insightful! January 31, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. I couldn't put it down. It did start out slow but I quickly was hooked on this true story. Susan tells it from her teenage years to the time she escapes. Then she gives the reader a synopsis of what happens to those involved in her story and further information should you want to read more. I can't imagine being a member of such a cult, then having the conviction and willpower to escape. She is lucky to have escaped with her life, and she saved her children from a horrible future as well.
Opened My Eyes to a Whole Other World October 30, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Susan Ray Schmidt is an excellent story-teller. The story of her life in polygamy unfolds with a fascinating and unforgettable cast of characters, heart-wrenching tales of isolation and struggle, and inspiring accounts of strength of character and resolve. To think this is a true story is remarkable- it opened my eyes to the daily life of a young woman growing up in and participating in a polygamist lifestyle. The details were just right- not too many to bog down the story, but enough to reveal the ugly truths of polygamy. I could barely put it down because I wanted to know what happens next! I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in a question/answer session with the author of this book over the phone recently and I have to say she is so gracious and inspiring. I can't believe she lived through all she did and was able to come out of it without bitterness and she is able to use her experiences to inspire and inform others. I highly recommend this book to everyone and I know you won't be disappointed.
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