
Favorite Wife
Escape from Polygamy
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Narrated by:
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Susan Ericksen
About this listen
She had no choice in the matter - none of the girls did. Her mission was to give birth to and raise many children in devoted service to a shared husband. Susan was 15 years old when she became the sixth wife of Verlan LeBaron, one of the leaders of a rogue Mormon cult, who was engaged in a blood feud with his brother that from 1972 to 1988 claimed up to two dozen lives.
In this gripping and eloquent book, Susan Ray Schmidt tells the story of growing up on the inside and of her ultimate escape with her children from an oppressive and violent life. Delving more deeply into this mysterious underworld than any previous work, Favorite Wife is a powerful account of the affairs of the heart, coming of age under exceptional circumstances, and the tough choices that are sometimes painfully necessary to preserve human dignity.
Susan Ray Schmidt was once a member of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times and the child-bride of polygamist Verlan LeBaron in Colonia LeBaron in Mexico. After eight years of marriage, she left her husband and fled with her five children back to America. She remarried three years later.
©2006 Susan Ray Schmidt (P)2018 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Cult Insanity
- A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement
- By: Irene Spencer
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In Cult Insanity, Spencer reveals the outrageous behavior of her brother-in-law Ervil---a self-proclaimed prophet who determined he was called to set the house of God in order---and how he terrorized their colony. Claiming to be God's avenger and to have a license to kill in the name of God, Ervil ordered the murders of friends and family members, eliminating all those who challenged his authority. Cult Insanity is a riveting, terrifying memoir of polygamist life under the tyranny of a madman.
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Not as good as the First
- By Debra A on 12-07-09
By: Irene Spencer
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Breaking Free
- How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and My Father, Warren Jeffs
- By: Rachel Jeffs
- Narrated by: Rachel Jeffs
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In this searing memoir of survival in the spirit of Stolen Innocence, the daughter of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS Church, takes you deep inside the secretive polygamist Mormon fundamentalist cult run by her family and how she escaped it. Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel Jeffs was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey.
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Heart breaking addition to the FLDS cult story
- By Abby Martin on 12-10-17
By: Rachel Jeffs
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Shattered Dreams
- My Life as a Polygamist's Wife
- By: Irene Spencer
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Eye Opening... Difficult Listen... Honest
- By Paul Mullen on 06-24-08
By: Irene Spencer
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The Polygamist’s Daughter
- A Memoir
- By: Anna LeBaron, Leslie Wilson - contributor
- Narrated by: Anna LeBaron
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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"My father had more than 50 children." So begins the haunting memoir of Anna LeBaron, daughter of the notorious polygamist and murderer Ervil LeBaron. With her father wanted by the FBI for killing anyone who tried to leave his cult - a radical branch of Mormonism - Anna and her siblings were constantly on the run with the other sister-wives. Often starving and always desperate, the children lived in terror. Even though there were dozens of them together, Anna always felt alone.
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Bait and Switch
- By A. C. on 04-25-17
By: Anna LeBaron, and others
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Give Me Back My Children
- Sarah C Allred, Book 1
- By: Sarah Allred, Ellen Taylor
- Narrated by: Annlan Tran
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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She only wanted to be a mother to her own children - FLDS Cult leader had other plans. Sarah was born in 1979 in the FLDS compound. At 18, Sarah entered into an arranged marriage to Richard S Allred who was the grandson and personal bodyguard to leader Rulon Jeffs, and later Warren Jeffs. Sarah was the first of five wives and was often used to set the example. Sarah's husband was given Warren's prized daughter as his third wife who became Warren's source to control Sarah's family. As the Leadership adjusted, her world turned upside down.
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Yikes
- By Dar on 11-04-24
By: Sarah Allred, and others
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Prophet's Prey
- My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints
- By: Sam Brower, Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Jonah Cummings
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite considerable press coverage and a lengthy trial, the full story of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints has remained largely untold. Only one man can reveal the whole, astounding truth: Sam Brower, the private investigator who devoted years of his life to breaking open the secret practices of the FLDS and bringing Warren Jeffs and his inner circle to justice.
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Incredible Story of the FLDS
- By S on 11-11-11
By: Sam Brower, and others
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Triumph
- Life after the Cult - a Survivor's Lessons
- By: Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2003, Carolyn Jessop, a lifelong member of the extremist Mormon sect the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), gathered up her eight children, including her profoundly disabled four-year-old son, and escaped in the middle of the night to freedom. After detailing the shocking conditions of FLDS and her harrowing flight in her memoir, Escape, Carolyn reveled in her newfound identity as a bestselling author, a devoted mom, and a loving companion to the wonderful man in her life. She thought she had put her past firmly behind her.
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Helped me to look at the raid differently.
- By Karen on 10-19-12
By: Carolyn Jessop, and others
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Under the Banner of Heaven
- A Story of Violent Faith
- By: Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God; some 40,000 people still practice polygamy in these communities. At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith.
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Interesting @ arm's length
- By pixychild on 07-17-09
By: Jon Krakauer
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The Witness Wore Red
- The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice
- By: Rebecca Musser, M. Bridget Cook
- Narrated by: Rebecca Musser
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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The revealing and inspiring memoir of a woman forced into polygamous marriage in FLDS Church and her brave struggle to protect others from the same fate. Rebecca Musser grew up in fear, concealing her family's polygamous lifestyle from the "dangerous" outside world. Covered head-to-toe in strict, modest clothing, she received a rigorous education at Alta Academy, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' school headed by Warren Jeffs.
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Compelling and emotional read
- By Briley on 10-08-13
By: Rebecca Musser, and others
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The First 20 Years of My Life, In the FLDS
- By: Jenelle Jessop
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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I grew up in the FLDS. My life was hectic and unstable. After leaving, I brought it up I conversation. Some people said I should write a book. This is that book. It is a short, 23,000-word, memoir with my memories about cult indoctrination and the events of my life. This short book is written in 3 parts. Part 1 is the history, indoctrination, and setting of the church. Part 2 is my story in the church. In part 3, I talk about the struggles I face as a result of my upbringing, what I’ve learned about the world, and where I am now in this journey of life. Much time and revision went into ...
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Virtual Voice
- By Chasity on 02-10-25
By: Jenelle Jessop
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Secrets and Wives
- The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy
- By: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
- Narrated by: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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What do we really know about modern practicing polygamists - not fictional ones like the Henrickson family on HBO’s Big Love? We’ve seen the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the news, the underage brides in pioneer dresses on a Texas ranch. But the FLDS is just one of many groups that have broken with mainstream Mormonism to follow those parts of Joseph Smith’s doctrine disavowed by the LDS Church. Gaining unprecedented access to these communities, journalist Sanjiv Bhattacharya reveals a shadow country....
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Great stories (+), religious amateur hour (-)
- By Douglas on 09-26-13
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Destroying Their God
- How I Fought My Evil Half-Brother to Save My Children
- By: Wallace Jeffs, Shauna Packer, Sherry Taylor
- Narrated by: Erik Johnson
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1991, Wallace Jeffs was coerced to become an FLDS polygamist. In 2011, Wallace rebelled against the sect, and the FBI helped him reclaim his kidnapped children. Then an "accident" put Wallace into a 45-day coma. Growing up as half-brother to future Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saint prophet Warren Jeffs, Wallace tried to follow FLDS teachings.... As his prophet-brother increasingly manipulated him, Wallace started hearing about FLDS atrocities.... Wallace defied the prophet and soon ended up in a coma.
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Interesting from the very beginning until the end
- By Shandor on 05-09-23
By: Wallace Jeffs, and others
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Beyond Belief
- My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
- By: Jenna Miscavige Hill
- Narrated by: Sandy Rustin
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige, was raised as a Scientologist but left the controversial religion in 2005. In Beyond Belief, she shares her true story of life inside the upper ranks of the sect, details her experiences as a member Sea Org - the church's highest ministry - speaks of her "disconnection" from family outside of the organization, and tells the story of her ultimate escape.
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The Despicable Truth Behind Scientology
- By Tim on 02-07-13
What listeners say about Favorite Wife
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- Allauna
- 04-09-19
Very Exciting and Touching
This book has been extremely exciting and very emotional. I should have read this book sooner after reading a Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer. I really enjoyed all of the genealogical details that are given in this book. It would not matter if you are young or old, man or woman, this story has been a gift for anyone to read.
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-21-22
Fascinating
What a treacherous way to grow up! She had such strength of spirit. Definitely worth reading.
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- cotswoldrose
- 01-11-24
Wow--amazing prequel!
I call this book a prequel in my title because the last book I listened to was The Polygamist's Daughter, by Anna LeBaron, which continues this story, just along a different branch of it. After I read that one, which was about Anna's youth in the 1970s and 80s as Ervil LeBaron's daughter, I found this one, which is more about Verlan LeBaron and one of his "wives," Susan. My Favorite Wife takes place in the decades preceding Anna's childhood--the 50s-70s. I recommend to other readers that they listen to My Favorite Wife first and then The Polygamist's Daughter. The former fills in a lot of information that the latter refers to, and now I understand the whole saga much better. Anna's story is, in some ways, even more shocking and riveting than this one, but both are excellent. My Favorite Wife is much longer and a little slow in places, though.
I'm not a fan of the reader for this book. Whereas Anna's story is read by the author, which gives it a more realistic, personal quality, the reader for Susan's story is clearly "performing". Her voice is pleasant to listen to, almost musical, but her oral interpretation has a theatrical quality that I found off-putting. Even so, I recommend both books highly. Now I would like to know how the whole "church" got started in the first place, so I may seek out that chapter of the saga eventually.
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- Sgarlits
- 11-14-19
Disturbing
The book is well written and told, however it is overall disturbing. The author's account details her love for her former husband but knowing her age at the time makes this a hard listen at times.
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- Ali W.
- 09-10-23
Wow
Makes you grateful for the problems you have and let’s you see that there are others in the world that have it worse.
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- Kristi Ogren
- 07-05-24
Excellent
It kept my attention! This is a fascinating story and it swept me up. I felt like I was there very well done on all levels.
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- Brenda Cantwell
- 05-05-19
Excellent memoir
This book is well written and well performed. Amazing grit that this woman displayed in her life. So happy she found the true God!!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Pamela Plimpton
- 09-03-19
An amazing addition to my library
I have listened to several titles having to do with polygamy & this book does not disappoint. The genealogy in this one is terrific. Several of these names sounded familiar from other books & this one put most of those names in place and was easy to follow. Very few details were left out & Susan has an amazing strength and grit to her. Thoroughly enjoyed this book!!
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- Theresa Kolb
- 07-28-19
Good read
This was a good read,I would recomend to friends.Looking forward to more in this genera.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ana
- 04-02-19
Captivating
Susan's life story had me captivated from the very beginning. There were some instances where I really wanted to scream at her to be smarter and make better decisions.Throughout the story you could really hear her maturing and growing which I really enjoyed.
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