Irene Spencer did as she felt God<BR />commanded in marrying her<BR />brother-in-law Verlan LeBaron, becoming<BR />his second wife. When the<BR />government raided the fundamentalist, polygamous<BR />Mormon village of Short Creek, Arizona, <BR />Irene and her family fled to<BR />Verlan's brothers' Mexican ranch.<BR />They lived in squalor and desolate<BR />conditions in the Mexican desert<BR />with Verlan's six brothers, one sister, <BR />and numerous wives and children.<BR />Readers will be appalled and<BR />astonished, but most amazingly, <BR />greatly inspired. Irene's dramatic<BR />story reveals how far religion can<BR />be stretched and abused and how one woman and her<BR />children found their way out, into truth and redemption.

"'Raised in a polygamous home, Spencer was barely 16 when she married her sister's husband, a young Mormon who went on to marry eight more women. Since the Church of Latter-Day Saints renounced polygamy in 1904, these fundamentalist Mormons had to keep their practice covert. Spencer's husband's family moved to a remote part of Mexico to build a community, but familial insanity and grinding poverty kept them moving from place to place. Spencer was willing to work hard and was willing to do without decent clothing or food — but she couldn't stand limited access to her husband's affections. Their sect proscribed all but procreational sex, and since she was constantly pregnant or nursing, she never seemed to have much sex with her husband. Finally, after 28 years of marriage and bearing 13 children, she knew that although she loved her husband, she had to leave him. She moved to Alaska, where she became a born-again Christian with a monogamous husband. Spencer's story has everything — a strangely complicated religious sect, a plucky heroine, a conflicted but good-hearted man and even a reasonably happy ending.' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"'Just as A Mormon Mother is the standout memoir of a 19th-century polygamous woman's life, this autobiography offers the compelling voice of a contemporary plural wife's experiences. Daughter of a second wife, Spencer was raised strictly in 'the Principle' as it was lived secretly and illegally by fringe communities of Mormon 'fundamentalists' — groups that split off from the LDS Church when it abandoned polygamy more than a century ago. In spite of her mother's warnings and the devotion of a boyfriend with monogamist intentions, Spencer followed her religious convictions — that living in polygamy was essential for eternal salvation — and became a second wife herself at the age of 16 in 1953. It's hard to tell which is more devastating in this memoir: the strains of husband-sharing with — ultimately — nine other wives, or the unremitting poverty that came with maintaining so many households and 56 children. Spencer's writing is lively and full of engaging dialogue, and her life is nothing short of astonishing. After 28 years of polygamous marriage, Spencer has lived the last 19 years in monogamy. Her story will be emotional and shocking, but many readers will resonate with the universal question the memoir raises: how to reconcile inherited religious beliefs when they grate against social norms and the deepest desires of the heart.' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Irene Spencer did as she felt God

commanded in marrying her

brother-in-law Verlan LeBaron, becoming

his second wife. When the

government raided the fundamentalist, polygamous

Mormon village of Short Creek, Arizona,

Irene and her family fled to

Verlan's brothers' Mexican ranch.

They lived in squalor and desolate

conditions in the Mexican desert

with Verlan's six brothers, one sister,

and numerous wives and children.

Readers will be appalled and

astonished, but most amazingly,

greatly inspired. Irene's dramatic

story reveals how far religion can

be stretched and abused and how one woman and her

children found their way out, into truth and redemption.

Irene Spencer did as she felt God

commanded in marrying her

brother-in-law Verlan LeBaron, becoming

his second wife. When the

government raided the fundamentalist, polygamous

Mormon village of Short Creek, Arizona,

Irene and her family fled to

Verlan's brothers' Mexican ranch.

They lived in squalor and desolate

conditions in the Mexican desert

with Verlan's six brothers, one sister,

and numerous wives and children.

Readers will be appalled and

astonished, but most amazingly,

greatly inspired. Irene's dramatic

story reveals how far religion can

be stretched and abused and how one woman and her

children found their way out, into truth and redemption.

Spencer did as she felt God commanded in marrying her brother-in-law Verlan LeBaron, becoming his second wife. Her dramatic story reveals how far religion can be stretched and abused and how one woman and her children found their way out, into truth and redemption.