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| Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs | 
 enlarge | Authors: Elissa Wall, Lisa Pulitzer
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $14.64
You Save: $11.31 (44%)
New (40) Used (15) Collectible (1) from $13.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 606
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.4 x 1.5
ISBN: 0061628018
Dewey Decimal Number: 289.3092
EAN: 9780061628016
ASIN: 0061628018
Publication Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: NEW AND IN PERFECT CONDITION
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Product Description
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 to which Jeffs went in order to control the sect's women. Now, in this courageous memoir, Elissa Wall tells the incredible and inspirational story of how she emerged from the confines of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and helped bring one of America's most notorious criminals to justice. Offering a child's perspective on life in the FLDS, Wall discusses her tumultuous youth, explaining how her family's turbulent past intersected with her strong will and identified her as a girl who needed to be controlled through marriage. Detailing how Warren Jeffs's influence over the church twisted its already rigid beliefs in dangerous new directions, Wall portrays the inescapable mind-set and unrelenting pressure that forced her to wed despite her repeated protests that she was too young. Once she was married, Wall's childhood shattered as she was obligated to follow Jeffs's directives and submit to her husband in "mind, body, and soul." With little money and no knowledge of the outside world, she was trapped and forced to endure the pain and abuse of her loveless relationship, which eventually pushed her to spend nights sleeping in her truck rather than face the tormentor in her bed. Yet even in those bleak times, she retained a sliver of hope that one day she would find a way out, and one snowy night that came in the form of a rugged stranger named Lamont Barlow. Their chance encounter set in motion a friendship and eventual romance that gave her the strength she needed to break free from her past and sever the chains of the church. But though she was out of the FLDS, Wall would still have to face Jeffs—this time in court. In Stolen Innocence, she delves into the difficult months on the outside that led her to come forward against him, working with prosecutors on one of the biggest criminal cases in Utah's history, so that other girls still inside the church might be spared her cruel fate. More than a tale of survival and freedom, Stolen Innocence is the story of one heroic woman who stood up for what was right and reclaimed her life.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 40 more reviews...
 Disturbing and Eye Opening May 23, 2008
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
Stolen Innocence - by Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer
Ellissa Wall was brought up in the bosom of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints and at fourteen was forced to marry her older first cousin, and repeatedly raped throughout her 3 year marriage. This is Elissa's story. But it's also a glimpse into the workings of a way of life that many of us would find chilling, yet was perfectly normal for Elissa and her many siblings. We learn how plural marriages work (and at times may even work well for the people who have learned nothing else but this way of life) and how they shouldn't work, we learn how on the whim of one man, a Sister Mother and her children can be taken away; with no explanation, from her husband and given to another man deemed more worthy. We learn how one man used his so-called, influence with God, to force families to shun their own children, sell their business and properties, to live in fear. And, this is also the story of the rise and fall of that very influential, very manipulative man; a man named Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS.
This is a heart breaking story of Elissa's struggle to be the perfect daughter, student, person. We see her struggles even at a very young age to "stay sweet", a common phrase used when you are shattering inside, but can't let it show - and what happens when someone finally breaks her spirit. This is also an example to all women that they can overcome, be brave and even learn to grow from the horrors they may have been forced to endure.
One thing that disturbed me is that in this book, we never learn whether or not any of the women actually loved/love their husbands or if their husbands loved/love them and this lack begs the question - when one is never shown a loving relationship between man and wife, when spousal relationships are more like business deals, then how did Elissa know that she would never come to love her husband? I would have like to have seen this addressed.
It's remarkable and repulsive to learn that practices such as this go on in our progressive country. These are things we think/pray only happen in third world countries.
This is an excellent, timely, eye opening read and should be a 'must' read for anyone interested in issues involving women in our country during this century.
 What a Book!! May 27, 2008
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
Like Carolyn Jessop's book Escape Elissa Wall describes her life in the FLDS or Fundamentalist Church of Later Day Saints.
Elissa spent much of her childhood with her parents, her 12 siblings and 10 step-siblings in Salt Lake City, Utah. When she was 9 however Warren Jeffs (the son of the prophet Rulon) had her father banished and her mother "given" to leader Fred Jessop. Elissa did not have an easy time because her step-sisters would make fun of her and her siblings. When she was 14 Fred told the family that three of the daughters of the home would be married soon. Elissa did not realize that she would be one of them and when she found out that she was to marry her 18 year old first cousin Allen Steed she was mad.
During the time between the announcement that she was to be married and the marriage itself she tried to get Warren and Rulon Jeffs to change their minds and give her more time. They did not and at 14 she was married to Allen. Over the next 3 years she did her best to be a good wife, but Allen's abuse and sexual advances hurt her very deeply. She would spend much of her time living in her car or spending the night at her mothers house, so that she would not have to go home.
One night when she was 17 she was going to a space that she used to sleep in her truck when her tires blow and she started to have a miscarriage. She was in the mud trying to change her tire when she met Lamont Barlow a fellow member of the FLDS. This meeting changed their lives. At first they were just friends, but shortly after he left the FLDS they became romantically involved and Elissa became pregnant.
When Elissa was pregnant with her baby she left the FLDS and shortly afterwards was encouraged by her sisters who had also left the FLDS to file a suit against Allan, Warren Jeffs, and the FLDS which is detailed in the book.
This is a very powerful, well written book.
Well written, easy to read, hard to put down. May 19, 2008
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
I agree with another review that said "The book is respectful and dignified while it tells a shocking story of abuse and betrayal".
My favorite book on the FLDS is Escape. This book is a very close second, if not equal.
I left feeling very lucky she had the strength and courage to share her story with us. I know I personally could never have been that strong through so many tragedies.
Could Not Put It Down May 18, 2008
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I bought this book to read on a long flight but decided to take an advance "peak." I could not help myself - I just kept reading page after page until I finished it over the course of one afternoon! Melissa Wall tells her story in such an easy to read style, giving the reader a fascinating insider's tour of a completely different way of life. The book is respectful and dignified while it tells a shocking story of abuse and betrayal. The poignant description of a family's turmoil not only touches the heart but it also provokes deep thought. It raises questions of what is most important in life: struggles between faith and independent reasoning, tensions between family and church, between husbands and wives, between parents and children. This book is informative, entertaining, challenging, moving and disturbing. By revealing the intimate,inner experience of one girl's broken heart, it issues a powerful cry to all of us to protect and nurture children.
Sarah Chana Radcliffe, author, "Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice"
Stolen Innocence, a must read! May 18, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I couldn't put this book down. From the very beginning I was captivated by Elissa Wall's story of childhood lost and countless heartbreaks. She offers her readers an amazing "behind the scene" look at polygamy in the United States under Warren Jeffs and brings new light to the plight of the women and children still living within its confines. Elissa is a brave young lady and this book offers readers a unique opportunity to glimpse into the her life as a young girl in the FLDS.
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