Breaking Free by Rachel Jeffs Published by HarperCollins on November 14, 2017
Genres: Biography & Autobiography / Criminals & Outlaws, Biography & Autobiography / Memoirs, Biography & Autobiography / Religious, Biography & Autobiography / Survival, Biography & Autobiography / Women, Law / Criminal Law / General, Religion / Christianity / Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), Religion / Cults, Religion / History, True Crime / Murder / General
Pages: 320
Format: Audiobook
Amazon|Barnes&Noble|Goodreads
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. No one in this radical splinter sect of the Mormon Church was more powerful or terrifying than its leader Warren Jeffs—Rachel’s father.
Living outside mainstream Mormonism and federal law, Jeffs arranged marriages between under-age girls and middle-aged and elderly members of his congregation. In 2006, he gained international notoriety when the FBI placed him on its Ten Most Wanted List. Though he is serving a life sentence for child sexual assault, Jeffs’ iron grip on the church remains firm, and his edicts to his followers increasingly restrictive and bizarre.
In Breaking Free, Rachel blows the lid off this taciturn community made famous by Jon Krakauer’s bestselling Under the Banner of Heaven to offer a harrowing look at her life with Warren Jeffs, and the years of physical and emotional abuse she suffered. Sexually assaulted, compelled into an arranged polygamous marriage, locked away in "houses of hiding" as punishment for perceived transgressions, and physically separated from her children, Rachel, Jeffs’ first plural daughter by his second of more than fifty wives, eventually found the courage to leave the church in 2015. But Breaking Free is not only her story—Rachel’s experiences illuminate those of her family and the countless others who remain trapped in the strange world she left behind.
A shocking and mesmerizing memoir of faith, abuse, courage, and freedom, Breaking Free is an expose of religious extremism and a beacon of hope for anyone trying to overcome personal obstacles.
One thing I’ve noticed as Draven, and I get deeper into these memoirs, is the voice. The child-like voice. Part fundy voice and part just childhood trauma infused into that being perpetually child-like state. Let’s talk about the word fundy for a minute. Here’s the deal: you can absolutely be part of a conservative faith that is foundationally rooted in Biblical principles that are interpreted as they are written. Or whatever sacred text your faith follows (Orthodox Jews come to mind). But when your ‘faith’ crosses lines that negatively impact the followers of that faith in ways that are grossly illegal and fundamentally harmful to personhood, you aren’t following a faith base; you are in a cult. And when your cult is based on fundamental beliefs, then fundy all the way.
Rachel Jeffs was raised in a cult. What started as a fundamentalist faith based around Old Testament ideas of multiple wives (polygamy) became centered around brainwashing that led to total control first of the women, then of the men. One man with ultimate control that was built into the system, generation after generation. What may have started as questionable belief in theology became a systematic leadership of perversion. I’ve watched the documentaries from other’s that were exiled or escaped. I’ve seen the news, but hearing Rachel tell her story added just another layer.
Yes, her voice, her speaking, is child-like. But in that voice, her words, you get an open door to the trauma that was her life within FLDS and her father, who took years of perverted ‘theology’ to new levels of degradation. Rachel’s words, in her own voice, showed courage and strength despite the foundation of her life and the absolute abuses she suffered as a child, while she also watched as other young ladies suffered as children. While almost stoic in tone, it didn’t detract from the messages of her life but instead showed the resilience she grew with experience and age. I’ve read somewhere that she may be putting out a follow-up book, and I’d be very eager to get my hands on that if it comes to fruition.
Bonus Content: I know that this seems a bit disjointed, and I talk a lot about the cult and less about Rachel, but the truth is . . . Rachel’s story really brought a lot up for me about the foundation that she came from. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around how one person can absolutely control so many. It’s happened over and over through history, and every time I wonder if that could ever happen to me. Whether due to absolute trust or fear, could that be me? I applaud Rachel for telling her story, for surviving her story.
About Rachel Jeffs
Hi, I’m Rachel Jeffs turned Rachel Blackmore because I married this guy-
I love laughing, having a good time, and helping others heal because we all have a story, right? We all need healing. I joke around a bit but never mean to be offensive so take what I say lighthearted
I was born and raised in a strict cult where we had to wear ankle length, wrist length dresses and our hair braided and up. We looked hilarious to say the least.
My mother’s name is Barbara Barlow and my father- actually I tell people I like to believe my mom was a “virgin” when I was conceived because I can’t imagine that I could have possibly come from somewhere so vile- but Warren Jeffs claimed to be my father of sorts
I believe happiness is a choice and we can use difficult experiences to learn gratitude for what is good in our lives. It’s easy to wonder “why me?” But instead I choose to thank God for helping me see and delivering me from the crazy world I once knew.
Yes, I believe in God but not religion and men who claim they have special powers from God to control other people.
I believe in everything real and natural and am not overly spiritual. I despise extremism in any form.
I love beautiful places; mountains, lakes, oceans, and forests. My interests include natural healing, nutrition, reading, horses, music, photography, and most of all my family and anything that will help them be successful and happy
I want everyone to find happiness and my greatest goal is to inspire others in doing so
I wrote a book: Breaking Free, by Rachel Jeffs, which is available on Amazon and Audible if you are interested in my life in the FLDS cult and how I escaped.
Wanna share your thoughts? Leave a comment!