My wife has lots of really cool friends and some of her friends are writers. This is really cool because she often gets books in advance that she reads and reviews. Recently, her friend Anna LeBaron (Facebook, Twitter) wrote a memoir about her life and how she escaped a polygamist cult. This is not a book that I normally would read but I picked it up and read the first few pages, and I was hooked.

The story is about Anna’s life from a young age, and details the ins and outs of her experience. Her story is riveting, and captures you from the first few chapters. I have always been curious of life inside these cults. I have watched documentaries on Jonestown and David Koresh; but this story was unique because it comes through the eyes of a child who grew up in this environment. Her story is full of tension, fear, heartache, and shows the struggle that she went through to survive. Her journey is one that we can all relate to in some form or fashion, and it culminates with her finding God through His Son Jesus Christ.

There are many people in her story who helped her along the way, but what I loved most about this book was that the hero of it is definitely Jesus. You can see how He protected her, and provided deliverance even before she knew Him as her Savior. Anna was open with the struggles she had both during and after her time in the cult. Experiences like hers leave scars, and she is open with the process it took for her to deal with them. It’s abundantly clear that the physical, mental, and emotional healing she needed, she received through God’s loving care, and the ministry of His people. Seeing her walk through the struggles she had after her escape should give hope to all of us who have been through literal hell on earth at some point in our lives. God loved and pursued her, that is clear; and He does the same for all His children.

I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone!

You can buy the book Here.

You can read more about Anna’s father here