Escape by Carolyn Jessop

I am fascinated by the FLDS culture - both non-fiction and fictionalized.  I've read a handful of books and articles and of course watch Big Love.  This is the first real account that I've come across and it was fascinating.  Carolyn Jessop escaped the Colorado City FLDS community in her early thirties with eight children (including one with serious medical needs and a preemie) and managed to secure her freedom from one of the most powerful men in the FLDS community run by Warren Jeffs.

Warren Jeffs is the one that most of us heard about in the last couple of years, on the run and capture in Vegas with wigs and a stash of cash.  Carolyn spent enough time in the Colorado City community to be able to reflect on the changes over thirty years from a seemingly more open and liberal society to the fanatical conservative compound that Warren Jeffs created in Texas.  Her awakening and realizations about the ways religion was corrupted by greedy men as mind control are captivating.

Carolyn Jessop's personal story is at once fascinating and terrifying.  The book itself could use some serious editing, but it strings you along nonetheless.  The tales of abuse are intense and the relationships between the Jessop family members alone are incredible.  Carolyn's struggles to protect herself and her children are inspiring.

There are too many more adjectives I could bring out to describe this reading experience.  The mind boggles, as they say.  I highly recommend this one.