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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
    Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs
    Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs
    Audiobook15 hours

    Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs

    Written by Lisa Pulitzer and Joan Rivers

    Narrated by Renee Raudman

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 2, 2008
    ISBN9781400177905
    Author

    Lisa Pulitzer

    Lisa Pulitzer is a former correspondent for the New York Times andcoauthor of more than a dozen nonfiction titles, including the New York Times bestsellers Stolen Innocence, Imperfect Justice, and Mob Daughter.

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    Reviews for Stolen Innocence

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    • 3/5
      The narrator was not a good fit--overly dramatic, girly, and fake. It detracted from the book by making real horrors seem trite.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Big change in subject for me - this one was a case of thrift shop serendipity found when I had reason to wish to understand an inflexible religious mindset a little better. I remember this book from the days it was $30 or so brand new at Borders.I can hardly believe that the FLDS members are an American people practicing an American religion. Goodness gracious, have they no care for freedom??? Have they not heard of the American taste for freedom? No, not so much. They have taken to their slavery like ducks to water and reason will not change minds there. They can actually "keep sweet" when such outrageous demands are made on them by their powers that be? Remove a man from his family, assign his woman and children to another man, exile the boys, and everyone cooperates? All I can say is.... wow. I had no idea. How horrible and frightening cult behavior is when you shine a light under the rock that people like David Koresh and Jim Jones live under. I had sort of a panic attack at the mere sight of Warren Jeffs in the picture section. My Spider Sense literally screamed "CREEEEEP!" and I was literally frightened for just a moment, sitting safely in my home with a hardback in my hands. World of yuck. So glad he's in jail, so sorry the faithful are apparently waiting around for him to come back and take up the reins of power again. It is probably quite relevant to say here that I'm not necessarily put off by tall, skinny and weird. I think Joey Ramone is one of the more adorable human beings to have graced the planet for awhile, and I do freely admit that seeing "Rock and Roll High School" at an impressionable age may have had something to do with this affectionate feeling for the Ramones.High praise to author and escapee, free woman Elissa Walls, who somehow managed to maintain a most laudable sense of grace, forgiveness, love and hope concerning her True Believer mother and sisters, escaped siblings and and even her sad sack cousin-ex-husband. I tip my hat to her.As for the FLDS, they are throwing away their children in the name of their religion, and I fear it is always a mistake to turn out your family. No matter why, even if it's in the name of religion. Especially when it is over religion. I can say that with some authority at the moment. Thanks Elissa, reading your story brought me comfort after my fight with a fundamentalist.
    • 5/5
      I really liked this book. I had no idea what life was really like for flds people. I'm glad things turned out the way they did.
    • 5/5
      I didn't want to stop listening to this book!!! Awesome!!!
    • 3/5
      Didn't quite finish this one, but it wasn't a bad book. I just lost interest.
    • 5/5
      The mixed reviews scared me off, but this was an amazing book. It was beautifully written… but very heartbreaking.
    • 5/5
      It’s truly sad what this poor woman has experienced. I finished her sisters memoir & enjoyed reading an addition story filling in more details.
    • 5/5
      Elissa's story is very important in the world of religious cults. I'm so glad she decided to share it and I really hope that it helps people, because I know it can. I know this kind of material is forbidden to the people inside these cults, but I hope that it still reaches them somehow and I hope that those who do manage to escape can find hope within these pages and can find the strength in themselves to keep moving forward.
    • 3/5
      Stolen innocence: My Story of Growing up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs. Elissa Wall, 2008. The title says it all. This is a fascinating and horrifying look into the FLDS, the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, and their practices. The author grew up into a family with one father and 3 wives and all their children. She was forced into marriage at the age of 14 to a man she had never liked. She details daily life under the hideous dictatorship of the Prophet Jeffs who controlled every aspect of the lives of the members of the sect. It is hard to believe that people still live like this. This is a very readable detailed account of Walls life and escape from this sect.
    • 4/5
      I read this book out of curiosity for a local but isolated culture. Elissa Wall grew up in a community driven for a rather contrived concept of heaven and redemption. Marriage shaped the way of life for many of the believers. While my religious upbringing does not amount to the extremes of the FLDS church, I can relate to how religion can create a logical blind spot. It was a frustrating experience to realize how many people around Wall could have done something to get her out of an undesirable situation but did not due to a combination of fear and faith. At the same time, it is hard to point fingers as many FLDS members would not know how to live the "worldly" way and leaving was unthinkable with salvation at risk. Wall herself illustrated many of those fears in her account. That aside, I found several aspects of this sect that fascinated me. While members minimized exposure to the outside world, special occasions called for eating out at chain restaurants in urbanized areas or hotel getaways. Many members also had regular phone access. This surprised me to a degree considering the lengths they went to hide polygamy and underage marriages. Overall it is a interesting perspective on religious control.
    • 3/5
      A sad story with a good ending. The woman who wrote this book lived in a polygamous Mormon community and experienced many traumatic family experiences before being forced to marry a cousin when she is about 15. She eventually leaves the husband and the community (including her mother and a younger sister), and brings legal charges against the leader of the community. I knew a lot about the practices of the Fundamentalist Mormons from reading Under the Banner of Heaven, which is wonderfuly BTW, but it is interesting to hear the story from the perspective of someone who grew up a believer and eventually became disillusioned. Unfortunately, the audio book is read by a woman whose voice really annoyed me. Too melodramatic for my taste.
    • 5/5
      4.5 starsElissa Wall grew up as an FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, the polygamous sect of the Mormons) member. As she grew up, she watched many of her older siblings either leave or be kicked out of the FLDS. When she was 14-years old, she was forced to marry her first cousin, Allen – a man she loathed. She begged from the start to get out of the marriage, both because she was too young and he was her cousin. “Prophet” (or the mouthpiece for the current prophet, ailing Roulon Jeffs – Warren’s father) Warren Jeffs didn’t listen or care. She continued to try to be released from this awful marriage as Allen continually abused her. I’ve read a few books about the FLDS. This is another horrifying story, as Warren Jeffs took power from his father and things got worse and worse for the members, in addition to young Elissa. It seems that it’s hard enough for victims of abuse to come forward; there is so much additional pressure for FLDS in that they first need to get away - for many, against the wishes of their families and other loved ones, and of course, against their church and religious beliefs. I listened to the audio and thought the narrator did a good job.
    • 5/5
      Highly recommend, excellent read. It'll kinda creep you out if you're a woman, and especially if you're a woman from utah. Just a little too creepy to feel totally safe.
    • 4/5
      This was a really engaging read through each part of the narrative, her childhood, her marriage, her escape, the trial. The exploration of the indoctrination of FLDS members was especially interesting, as well as how absolute faith in the prophet required the suppression of the people's own consciences when it contradicted what the prophet said. This sort of fundamentalism is present in many, many groups and ideologies.Side note--Elissa Wall is the sister of Rebecca Musser, the woman who wrote The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice. I did not know this, but started noticing similarities in the narrative near the end of Stolen. But I checked my copy of Witness and the names were different. But I kept reading and the similarities kept happening. Turns out, after some Wikipedia-ing, Stolen was written in 2008 and used a lot of pseudonyms for Elissa's family. Witness was written in 2013 and used real names. So Cassandra in Stolen is Rebecca in Witness. My confusion is now at resolved.
    • 4/5
      Elissa Wall tells a powerful, sad, provoking story. The reader is bound to feel empathy for her and a sadness for the community of victims. She was a strong girl to flee from the only life style she knew in search of her right to liberty and happiness.

      The account does not do justice to all of the victims of the FDLS group, but she tells her story with conviction. There are other accounts from individuals that escaped the rule of Warren Jeffs. "Lost Boy" and "The Witness Wore Red" are two accounts of other individuals that testified against Jeffs. The three accounts taken together paint a picture of not just girls and women being the victims but young boys and men as well. Clearly the removal of Jeffs from leadership was necessary.

      Elissa Wall was a child bride at 14, but her husband at 19 and growing up in an isolated society, being influenced by a community that said his job was to keep control his wife was a victim as well. Few boys at 19 are men, and those being told they could be ex-communicated if they can't make their wife obey them are probably not really thinking as clearly as those of us raised with a broader scope. I don't believe this book fairly portrays Allen Steel, the plight of the boys forced out of the church, or men who were ostracized for their failure to be able to force their families compliance, etc. Other than that I would say this is a good story with lessons to be learned about letting the heads of organizations make our decisions for us.
    • 4/5
      This was a book about Elissa Walls a young lady who was a part of the FLDS Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints. Her family was ripped apart, twice. Her mother, remarried to a different man. Her family was a shambles. The prophet promises her to her first cousin at age fourteen. She is repeatedly raped by him. She goes to the prophet multiple times (Warren Jeffs) to say she is too young for marriage, she doesn't like who was chosen for her, the marriage wasn't working, her tells her to "be sweet" and to go and submit to her husband. This book broke my heart. I won't say anything about their religion because that would be judgmental. But, Warren Jeffs got what he deserved.
    • 3/5
      Elissa Wall narrates the story of her upbringing in a polygamous family and her subsequent marriage to Allen Steel when she was 14. I felt really sorry for this young woman and her siblings who were caught in the rules of this weird sect dominated by a few creepy men who had numerous wives and lots of children. In some ways it was interesting to see the inside of this lifestyle and the domination of the Prophet in their lives. Those who are rebellious are punished and often choose to leave the sect. Finally, Elissa meets Lamont who has left the religion. He helps her leave and she subsequently is involved in a police investigation and arrest of Warren Jeffs for rape and polygamy. He is now spending time in jail.The book is too long and could have used a lot of editing to make it easier to read. I was speed reading the last half of the book as it just didn't hold my attention.
    • 3/5
      This book was interesting but not life changing. I listened to as an audio book and the most disappointing thing about it was the narrator. Her voice was like a teenager, upset because her boyfriend dumped her, throughout the entire book. Despite the grating voice, the writing itself reminded me of teen lit or a beach book. What did I like? The story was extremely interesting and getting a peephole glimpse into the life of the FLDS kept me listening. I realize that the Author isn't a writer but I just wish that she had found someone a little more talented to help her write the story. Her life is amazing and should be shared especially with other girls who feel oppression in this way. I'm very glad I finished the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn what life would be like growing up as a teenage girl in the FLDS.
    • 4/5
      As I was scanning over the library shelves one day this book caught my eye. I was taken to a compelling true story that I could NOT believe had happened during my own lifetime and was currently all over the news.
      The book started me on a FLDS reading frenzy. Although Elissa tells her story honestly, at times I felt she was begging the reader to believe her. And all the sobbing this girl does! I understand that she was hysterical, confused and frightened but the amount of depth she spent explaining her sobbing became irritating.
      It is a good book to read for those who want to know as much as possible how the Fundamentalist Mormon Faith.
    • 5/5
      I’m always interested in how upbringing and circumstances affect belief, and in Stolen Innocence Lisa Pulitzer has helped Elissa Wall write a fascinating account of her gradual transition from mildly rebellious believer to someone who would leave behind the only world she had ever known, even though she still worried her actions might cause her eternal damnation. Wall grew up in the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints, the polygamous sect Warren Jeffs, now jailed, led, but since her father and the first of his wives were converts and hadn’t been raised in the faith themselves, they had a harder than usual time adjusting to the dynamics of plural marriage, making trouble for the whole family. Though it was never idyllic, life deteriorated in the community after Warren Jeffs anointed himself prophet and began a series of self-serving proclamations that eliminated most celebrations, banished potential rivals, and tore families apart. The unraveling, and the way believers struggled to maintain their faith while coping with the changes make gripping reading.For me, the most intriguing, though heartbreaking, part of the book covers Wall’s life after being forced to marry a first cousin she despises when she is only fourteen. Still young and isolated enough to be naive, her nature and strict way of life also allowed her to be much more resilient and self-sufficient than a lot of young teenagers. She’d run to her mother for comfort, but she also found numerous jobs so she wouldn’t have to ask her “husband” for money, and many nights she slept alone in her pickup truck on isolated desert roads a to avoid spending the night with him.For those interested in Warren Jeff’s trial, that is covered in detail because Wall was a star witness in the case.
    • 4/5
      I've read a couple of books written by women who managed to escape this cult but this one was really interesting because of the story of Warren Jeffs , the creep who decided to name himself the prophet and later admitted he lied and fooled everybody.
      It is sad that the people of the FLDS are still behind this horrible man. They just do not know any better.

      The mother of Elissa, how selfish she is. My God. she lost nearly all of her kids but did not care as long as she was still in the good books of the FLDS so she would go to heaven. me me me.

      I am going to check on how the FLDS is doing now and if Jeffs appealed, probably.
    • 5/5
      Excellent Book!
    • 5/5
      Elissa Wall was born into an FLDS family who practice polygamy. The book provides an outline of her tumultuous childhood, teenage marriage and how she lost her family members one-by-one to the outside world. She struggled to follow the prophet Warren Jeffs while remaining true to herself and her values. After suffering from several miscarriages and a still birth, she found the courage to break away from the FLDS and eventually testify against Warren Jeffs. One thing that is hard to understand is the stark differences between the FLDS world and the outside world. From birth FLDS children are taught to fear outsiders and their way of life. Breaking away is not only an act of courage, but an act that FLDS members believe will send them to hell. This book did a wonderful job of presenting those differences and the challenges faced by former-FLDS members. The book was well written and presented a clear time line of Elissa's life. Although I thought the beginning moved slowly, the pace picked up after her marriage. Overall, this is a wonderful book, one I highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      Forced marriages and the rape of underage girls are happening today, here in America---and I'm not talking about the Muslims (though they're doing it, too)...I'm talking about the fundie Mormons.I just reread Stolen Innocence for the first time since it came out a few years ago, and unfortunately found it to be just as relevant now as it was then. But this is a remarkable book in many ways, and even more so on repeat readings. It contains many valuable lessons about what matters most in life. I still highly recommend it.
    • 5/5
      Working as a copy desk editor at our local paper, many articles came across my desk when this case hit the papers. I admit, that I have always been curious about the FLDS lifestyle, and I wanted to know the outcome of the trial. As with many people, I was happy to see Warren Jeffs punished. It's one thing to desire to follow your own religion in freedom, but it crosses a line when it forces little girls into situations of marital rape, abuse, etc. I was drawn to this book after looking up Under a White Flag, which was mentioned on Dr. Phil. I remembered Elissa from the various AP articles in the paper, and I was very curious about actually reading her memoir.While the story was exceptionally hard to read, it was an interesting look into the FLDS community. It is also interesting to compare these women to "modern" polygamists like the Browns or the authors of Love Times Three. Elissa Wall is very well spoken, a good writer, and really thinks deeply about the religion she was raised in. Even though she was mentally, emotionally, and physically abused by the system, she is still able to see the religion itself as something other than the people. She is also able to have a large amount of grace and mercy for the people still in the religion. I was also surprised at how she was able to star to feel a stirring of compassion for Allen during the court case.I felt the book was well paced. It never felt as though it was dragging. In fact, I read this dense book in a manner of days. It was very, very engaging. I really enjoyed the pictures that her included in the book. In a lot of ways, it made the book more real and accessible. And, at some level, I felt sorry for Allen and the position he was put in by Warren Jeffs.I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a deeper looking into FLDS.
    • 5/5
      Having dated someone who left the Mormon church and hearing his story of being thrown out by his family for turning on the church, I thought I knew the inner workings of Mormonism. Reading this book gave me more insight into the FLDS branch of the Mormon Church and the brainwashing still going on. Reading Elissa's abuse was difficult, but knowing that even police forces are protecting these polygamous men makes me shudder. What will it take to stop this horrible blight on our children and our women? Hopefully, someone reading this book will get just as angry as I am that this still goes on and law enforcement members who belong to the FLDS branch help to hide the incest and sexual abuse. Sending children off to work as they did in the concentration camps during WW2 just to teach them that they have to follow the FLDS teachings is a cruel and inhuman punishment for just being children. And yet, it still goes on and only Jeffs is behind bars. This book should be in every home, library and school until the FLDS is shut down and the pedophile men behind bars.
    • 3/5
      Freakishly fascinating. Didn't really give this a deep read--more of a manic skimming but the information it gave was, for lack of a better word, FREAKY. I cannot believe people can distort religion to such a degree. The author is truly a brave woman.
    • 4/5
      Wow it really makes you think about the brainwashing that goes on in the name of religion. This poor girl being married off to a first cousin at the age of 14 is just astonishing in today's society. And all of the other things going on with the community families being torn apart and put with new husbands and your just suppose to accept this is your new husband or father with no questions asked. It is just crazy. There was no way to defend yourself you just get pushed into all of this because it is believed to be the only way to go to heaven. The people running it seem to be egotistical and more than a little crazy! I'm glad she is able to live a full free life with her beautiful children and a wonderful husband she as able to fall in love with and chose for herself! It was an eye-opening book to think people still live like that in modern day America!
    • 3/5
      Good book, just not an awesome book. Much of the book was a bit slow for me and a bit redundant. I've read many books on this topic and I can say for me, this book would not be my favorite. Still, if this is a topic you were interested in it is very informative on how the church is run, rules..beliefs ect. Just dry reading for me.
    • 3/5
      Everytime I give a memoir about a heartwrenching topic less than four stars, I tend to feel a tremendous amount of guilt. I always feel like the author will read my less than stellar review and think "Well I'm sorry that what I went through wasn't GOOD enough for you! What, did you want me to go through more so that you could me entertained?" While this wasn't my issue with Stolen Innocence, I do have to give it three stars (and that's being semi-generous). My main issue with Stolen Innocence was that it lagged big time. A big chunk of this book was very repetitive. In fact, the first 100 pages were good and the last 100 pages were great. However, the middle was just a repeat of what she had mentioned in the first 100 pages repeated throughout about 200 more. This book would've been way better if it had been a bit on the shorter side sans any repeating. Stolen Innocence was also terribly written. I do understand that Elissa Wall isn't a writer and hence this book wasn't going to be some literary masterpiece, but I did expect it to be semi well-written. Shouldn't her ghostwriter have made it a bit more readable? And the editor really should have done a better job. There were glaring typos all over Stolen Innocence. I had to resist the urge to take out a red pen and correct them all. This was a FINAL copy, not an Advanced Reader's Copy and therefore should have read like one. Again I state that I did find Elisa Wall's story incredibly heartwrenching and the way that the FLDS treats its women really pisses me off. I am incredibly happy that Wall managed to escape and survive that ideal and I think it's great that she's sharing her story. I just wish it would've been better written.