Book Review - Stolen Innocence

This week I finished reading Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall. I thought it was interesting and put a review here.
Stolen Innocence is the autobiography of Elissa Wall, a former FLDS member who managed to break free from the religion. Elissa was born into the FLDS religion. Her mother – who birthed 18 children - was the second of three wives, but because of a strained home life, Sharon Wall and all her birth children were removed from the Wall residence. Then the prophet assigned them to a new man, Fred Jessop. He was an elder in the FLDS community, and was to be Elissa’s new father. None were allowed any contact with their biological father.
The FLDS operated much like a cult. Television and pop music were banned. Clothing was restricted to heavy prairie-style dresses that covered clavicle to ankle. When prophet Rulon Jeffs fell ill, his son Warren took over and things became even stricter. Children were forbidden to attend public school. Their education came from church elders, was completely based in religious teachings, and often children were pulled from school by the time they reached their teen years.
Throughout her childhood, many of Elissa’s siblings were either married, shipped off to behavioral camps, or simply excommunicated. At age 14, she is assigned to marry Allen Steed, her first cousin, a man of 18 who was quite a bully to Elissa in their childhood. Despite constant pleas for help no one would allow her to postpone her marriage. The marriage is not a legal one; the FLDS members marry in secret across the Nevada border to avoid the attention of the authorities.
Elissa too young and unworldly to understand her situation and is miserable. Allen rapes her nightly. Having had no education on the subject, Elissa doesn’t have words to describe what is happening to her. That doesn’t stop her from reaching out for help.
When she does go to Uncle Warren, as she is instructed to call him, he tells her to “go home and repent and give yourself mind, body, and soul to Allen because he is your priesthood head and obey him without question because he knows what’s best for you.” When she pushes it he says, “You are being selfish. You need to set aside your feelings and do what you are told.” Allen is instructed to have a “strong, firm hand” with Elissa.
Elissa grew more and more rebellious. She got a waitressing job outside the FLDS community, and skimmed money out of her paycheck (the entirety of which was supposed to go to her husband and the church) to put towards CDs and movies, and giving money to family members.
A turning point came for Elissa during her fourth miscarriage. Not having told anyone she was pregnant, she jumped in her truck and left the compound. Her truck got stuck in the mud, in the middle of nowhere, and she was close to suicide when Lamont, a friend of a friend, happened by and rescued her. Lamont was also an FLDS member, and had an equally traumatic experience in the church. Their friendship soon grows to love, and after a few months, the two escape the FLDS together.
Out of the FLDS, Elissa – despite tremendous fear – agrees to bring suit against Warren Jeffs for, among other charges, accomplice to rape. He is found guilty. As of the writing of this book, a plan was made to bring rape charges against Allen, but it is not clear if any were filed.
Wall does a good job of explaining the beliefs of the FLDS church for those of us who are unfamiliar with the religion, and she does so in a straightforward manner that is neither pro-FLDS nor bitter or angry. Elissa tries to explain how true fear is instilled in these believers – that if they do not do as they are told and “keep sweet” that they are damned to hell, and that their prophet is their god’s mouthpiece on earth. I felt like Warren Jeff’s taught his people that he was their Savior. That only through him could they be saved, totally eliminating Christ.
Like most autobiographies, it can get a little repetitive and self-serving. Wall is constantly speaking of her feelings, which are the same over and over again: fear, mainly, but also confusion, anxiety, and just a touch of anger. A person can only read about the fear and anxiety she faces when speaking to a church elder so many times before it becomes grating. The book is over 400 pages, but a quick read. I give it 3 stars.