The Sound of Gravel : : a Memoir

Locations
Call Number: 921 Wariner, Ruth, Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / General / Wariner, Ruth
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	921 Wariner, Ruth	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / General / Wariner, Ruth	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / General / Wariner, Ruth	4-week checkout	Due 05-22-2024

The promised land -- Babylon -- Alone -- Breaking.
The true story of one girl's coming-of-age in a polygamist family. Ruth Wariner was the thirty-ninth of her father's forty-two children. Growing up on a farm in rural Mexico, where authorities turn a blind eye to the practices of her community, Ruth lives in a ramshackle house without indoor plumbing or electricity. At church, preachers teach that God will punish the wicked by destroying the world and that women can only ascend to Heaven by entering into polygamous marriages and giving birth to as many children as possible. After Ruth's father--the founding prophet of the colony--is brutally murdered by his brother in a bid for church power, her mother remarries, becoming the second wife of another faithful congregant. In need of government assistance and supplemental income, Ruth and her siblings are carted back and forth between Mexico and the United States, where Ruth's mother collects welfare and her stepfather works a variety of odd jobs. Ruth comes to love the time she spends in the States, realizing that perhaps the community into which she was born is not the right one for her. As she begins to doubt her family's beliefs and question her mother's choices, she struggles to balance her fierce love for her siblings with her determination to forge a better life for herself. Recounted from the innocent and hopeful perspective of a child, this is the memoir of one girl's fight for peace and love.--Adapted from book jacket.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Sad but ultimately hopeful story submitted by gw on July 12, 2017, 12:16am This is a compelling, true story that covers living in poverty, polygamy and its consequences, sexual abuse, tragedy, and ultimately the author's drive to survive and save her sisters.

Polygamy submitted by Pooh3238 on June 17, 2018, 5:42pm This book is about a Mormon family that practices polygamy. The father is a horrible person.

Amazing submitted by AET on June 17, 2018, 9:03pm This book is fantastic. I couldn't put it down. A must-read if you're into polygamist memoirs.

If you loved Educated..... submitted by leah karr on August 19, 2022, 6:37pm read this one too. Poor, polygamist, hopeful escape.