Book Review: Stolen Innocence

I'll bet some of you think I haven't read for months! I have read plenty, but I've only finished two books this Spring. My latest read is Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall. This book is the powerful and at times hard-to-fathom story of a girl who grew up in a polygamous sect, was forced to marry at the age of 14, and then later was part of the court case against its leader.

Although she grew up in Utah and Arizona, this is the same group that has recently been in the news in Texas. Admittedly, this book helped me think a bit differently about the women and children that we've seen in the news and the religion as a whole.

Wall shares piece by piece and bit by bit her story of growing up in this culture. She has eleven brothers and twelve sisters. Her biological father had three wives when she was little. She weaves a tapestry of women who dearly love their children and men who truly believe they are doing the right thing by following the earthly "prophet" who supposedly has the direct line to God.

She tells of moments of chastening where wives and children are "reassigned" by the "prophet" to another Husband/Father when a family is not in control. This is what happened to Elissa and her family. She says that upon reassignment, they are taught that the DNA of the children is passed on to the new Father. The other Father is completely gone and contact with him does not happen.

Wall explains what happens when people question the faith and the teachings. People who choose to leave are often completely disconnected from their relatives who remain "inside". This happened to several of her siblings many years before she left. And it has now happened for her as she has no contact with her Mother or two younger sisters today.

There were many times while I read this book that I wondered just HOW some of this stuff happens in America. I think it really comes down to control. It starts with the youngest children and continues as they grow.

Here's what she notes about her schooling and how the leader ran it:

Unapproved pictures were removed from textbooks, and anything that had to do
with evolution or human anatomy was excised. In fact, anything that did
not conform to our strict religious teachings and beliefs was removed from the
lesson plans, and pages of books that dealt with conflicting subject matter were
simply ripped out.

Control. Power. No freedom of thought. Teachings by one person and one person only.

In a short video on the Barnes and Noble website, she notes that this sort of thing can, and does, happen because these are people who are born into this way of life. It's all they know. It is their "normal". And because they have no additional knowledge or influence from the outside, for them, it is "right".

Wall was forced to marry her first cousin at the age of 14. She was raped and abused in this marriage, but told to stay in it. Apparently women are taught over and over again to "keep sweet". This means not to ruffle feathers. Don't question. Smile and stay sweet.

This book is well worth the read. It is a great glimpse into a different religion and culture. Elissa writes not as a condemnation of her family and their faith, but as a story of hope for women who are victimized as a result of these beliefs. As a consultant for the Texas government during the recent events, she notes that her desire was to ensure that "the men, women, and children were treated with kindness, understanding, and respect." She is an extremely brave young woman who faced the challenges and escaped and is now doing her part to help other women as a result.

I applaud that kind of courage.