Polygamy Week Book Review: Triumph
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Triumph is Carolyn Jessop’s follow up to her first memoir Escape. In Escape, published in 2007, Carolyn writes her story of living in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and how she finally escaped from it in 2003. In 2008, the FLDS’s Yearning for Zion Ranch was raided by the state of Texas. Carolyn’s ex-husband happened to be in charge of the ranch at the time. Carolyn was asked by authorities to serve as a consultant during the investigation since she was all too familiar with FLDS culture and customs. In Triumph, Carolyn recounts her role in the investigation as well as her feelings about the whole process of the raid and the children of the FLDS members being taken away and later returned to their parents.
There is actually not a lot of new information in Triumph if you have already read Escape. Carolyn probably could have written a long magazine article about her role after the raid but I can see why she would want to capitalize on the FDLS being in the news and known by many more people than when her first book came out.
I appreciated getting more of a behind the scenes perspective on why the children of the FLDS members were taken by the state from the ranch in the first place and why they were ultimately returned. I remember feeling very conflicted about that whole situation at the time that it was happening.
Even though this book rehashed a lot of what was in the first book, I still enjoyed reading it. I liked catching up with Carolyn and her children and finding out how all of them had adjusted to life outside the cult since the ending of the first book. I think if you liked the first book and felt invested in Carolyn’s journey in it, then you will like this book too.
Buy this book at:
Amazon
Please link up any polygamy related reviews or posts – new or old! You can put your name@your blog name (title of book or post). Example: Rachel@ChaosIsAFriendofMine (Triumph). Thanks!
