Escape: A Memoir

by Carolyn Jessop and Laura Palmer

Book Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The dramatic true story of one woman's life inside the ultra-fundamentalist American religious sect featured in Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey--and her courageous flight to freedom with her eight children

With a new epilogue by the author - "Escape provides an astonishing look behind the tightly drawn curtains of the FLDS church, one of the most secretive religious groups in the United States. A courageous, heart-wrenching account."--Jon Krakauer

When she was eighteen years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with a total stranger: a man thirty-two years her senior. Merril Jessop already had three wives. But arranged plural marriages were an integral part of Carolyn's heritage: She was born into and raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical offshoot of the Mormon Church. Over the next fifteen years, Carolyn had eight children and withstood her husband's psychological abuse and the watchful eyes of his other wives, who were locked in a constant battle for supremacy. Carolyn was miserable for years and wanted out, but she knew that if she tried to leave and got caught, her children would be taken away from her. In 2003, Carolyn chose freedom over fear and fled her home with her eight children. She had $20 to her name.

Escape exposes a world tantamount to a prison camp, created by religious fanatics who, in the name of God, deprive the followers the right to make choices, brainwash children in church-run schools, and force women to be totally subservient to men. Against this background, Carolyn's flight takes on an extraordinary, inspiring power.

Not only did Carolyn manage a daring escape from a brutal environment, she became the first woman ever granted full custody of her children in a contested suit involving the FLDS. And in 2006, her reports to the Utah attorney general on church abuses formed a crucial part of the case that led to the arrest, and later the conviction and sentence, of their notorious leader, Warren Jeffs.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767927575
• ISBN13: 9780767927574
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Absolutely crazy!

This book was hard to put down. Cults are so weird.

Excellent, buy it, borrow it, but read it!

It took me only 2 days to read this book. The language is smooth and flowing, easy to follow. The book itself is chilling. Is this REALLY going on in mainstream America? Is our government, let alone the citizens of this country, allowing these abuses to thrive in this modern day and age? This book is moving and eye-opening. The real people who should be reading it are those locked into the FLDS who, sadly, will probably never even have access to a library in their lifetime. I hope the author will one day write a sequel to this book, I'd be very interested in knowing how this amazing woman's life has 'turned out'. Especially in regard to her daughter Betty, and in light of the exposure of Warren Jeffs and newly, "the lost boys".

A Must Read!

Yesterday I started Escape by Carolyn Jessop and I couldn't put it down. What an incredible story! Ms. Jessop is a hero and an inspiration. I must admit that had I not had the experience of living in St. George, Utah for the past 5 years I would find her story hard to believe - however I am sure that every word is true. My heart goes out to Ms. Jessop and her children and I wish them the best and hope that they overcome their years of programming, abuse and adversity and live long, free, happy and healthy lives. Ms. Jessop's story is distrubing and frightening - to think that there are so many hopeless people enduring a life of horrible abuse, all in the name of God. I praise Ms. Jessop for her role in bringing down the evil criminal Warren Jeffs and I pray that the other evil heartless criminal Merril Jessop will also find his just rewards in this life. A lifetime in jail is a fitting punishment for both of these despicable men. Hurray to you Carolyn, you are a brave woman and my new hero.

Awestruck!

This book is incredible! It will have you on the edge of your chair. You wont want to put it down. These cruel insecure, power hungry, egotistical, narcissistic men are the most putrid forms of life imaginable! Anger boiled inside me as I read this book. Carolyn is a remarkable women who anyone can draw inspiration from. Her determination to forge on for the sake of her kids is honerable. What a woman! I encourage everyone to read this book. Let's help Carolyn become successful over her book and help her to enjoy the riches she deserves after so long of oppression. You go girl! Angie

Perfectly produced audiobook does justice to a harrowing tale of survival

When a memoir is turned into an audiobook it seems especially important that the narrator sound as if she could be the author. Narrator Alison Fraser accomplishes that and much more. She voices an accurate and believable Carolyn Jessop, the remarkable woman who escaped with her eight children from the grips of a violent and abusive cult - the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). Carolyn's true story is one of survival. Born into a polygamist society, Carolyn is married off at age 18 as the fourth wife of Merril Jessop, a prominent leader in the FLDS community. As Carolyn becomes pregnant nearly every year, she struggles against oppression by her husband, his other wives, and the violently misogynistic community. Narrator Alison Fraser is able to perfectly capture both Carolyn's vulnerability and strength, along with her naiveté and cunning intelligence, which makes Escape a gripping and believable audiobook. Listeners will feel as if Carolyn herself is telling this story, which is the sign of a perfectly produced audiobook. -Jessica Teel

Gripping tale makes an exciting audiobook

Listeners will not want to turn off the CD's until heroine Carolyn Jessop manages to escape the horrific world of the FLDS. Carolyn's memoir describes a world in which women are totally and utterly controlled - by their fathers, husbands, and religious leaders. Through calculated planning, and a lot of smarts and guts, Carolyn manages to free herself and her eight children from this nightmare world. This book was highly successful in audio format. Alison Fraser reads Escape and she sounds exactly how I imagine Carolyn Jessop might read. Her performance is appropriately emotionally without being overly theatrical, which makes the listener feel as if a real person, and not an actress, is telling this tale. An interview with the author is also included, which I found quite interesting and enjoyable. I highly recommend this audiobook. Escape is a true life horror story that fortunately has a happy ending.