Shattered Dreams

I have read a few books about the Fundamentalist Mormon groups in Utah. These are groups of people who have split off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints because they wished to continue practicing polygamy. After the original split, there have been further splits dividing the people and families over differences about leadership and doctrine. One of the more famous, recent groups was led by Warren Jeffs in Colorado City and Hurricane, Utah. Some of these groups also include the Allred's (Salt Lake Valley), Blackmores (in Canada), and the LeBaron's (Mexico). All of these groups are related to each other in some way and each group has had their own difficulties. I find these groups interesting, both in their beliefs and lifestyle. The group I knew least about were the LeBaron's in Mexico. I came across Shattered Dreams : My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer at the library and had to read it.

Many of the books on this topic are written by women who lived in one of these communities. They usually explain how they were raised, what they were taught to believe, and then the life choices they made. Shattered Dreams is no different, but the story is fascinating. Irene secretly marries her husband Verlan as a second wife as a teenager and is quickly sent to Mexico. There, Irene and her sister wife endure a foreign land, language and a shared husband. They experience extreme poverty as they struggled to eke out a living in one failed farm after another. Pretty soon Irene has children and the stress and strain is palpable, but she never truly waivers in her faith. She is determined to live her beliefs. Then her husband decides to marry again. And again.

Eventually, she does begin to waiver. After the years of extreme poverty, constant moving in Mexico and South America, and multiple sister wives, Irene escapes with her children back to the United States. It's about this time that the religious leadership of her group begins to fracture. Her husband's brother Ervil murdered several people in the name of religion and his hit list included Irene and her family. After Verlan's death, Irene leaves polygamy for good.

The story is both honest and real. It's a bit rough. You question why any woman would willingly choose to live as she did. And yet, you have sympathy for her as she explains why she stayed as long as she did. This book is well worth a read.