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Life for Irene Spencer was a series of devastating disappointments and hardships. Irene's first book, Shattered Dreams, is the staggering chronicle of her struggle to provide for her children in abject poverty and feelings of abandonment each time her husband left to be with one of his other wives. Irene was raised to believe that polygamy was the way of life necessary for her ticket to heaven. The hard knocks of her environment were just the beginning of Irene's shocking tale.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.… (more)
User reviews
I think in saying the writing was a bit amateurish I need to explain myself. I found a lot of areas to repeat themselves and things moved along in a very choppily and it was hard to get a grip on during some parts. Especially during the climax of the book, she explains her way, then another persons view and then another. Either way this book is worth the read, especially if you are interested in cult societies.
(Believe me when I say, I know my writing is amateurish, as well)
It is an interesting story of self-declared prophets, poverty, abuse, murder and finally freedom. There are photographs, a map, and an interesting chart with the wives and children of Ervil LeBaron showing which ones were murdered, put in prison, or died by their own hands. The story jumps around a little, and I found it disturbing to read about the author’s complicity in keeping a woman locked in a room for years. It was just too simplistic of an explanation to read that this woman “lost her mind” when she found out her husband took a second wife and needed to be locked up. There is little information about the author's life outside the Mormon cult, but she has written other books which may include that information.
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There are several books out there about Evril (doesn't that sound so much like Evil) Lebaron, but none have that personal touch that Irene Spencer brings. I really felt her terror while she was out there in Northern Mexico living in such close proximity to Evril. The evilness of Evril is transparent in every page as the story digs deeper and deeper into the sick mind of Evril. Again i'm dumbfounded why anyone would put themselves in such harm's way, and feel like they have no choice but to live life that way.
Final words, this a gripping, disturbing book, and after reading it I defnitely want to know more about polygomy.
I thought the book notable for its concise and well-written chapter(s) at the beginning of the book describing the history of Mormon fundamentalism, and laying out the connections between the Short Creek (Warren Jeffs) crowd, the Rulon Allred crowd, the LeBarons, and the independents. The Ervil LeBaron offspring chart is also the most current chart, and lists the sad outcomes of some more of his children -- murdered, suicide, life in prison.
Similar chronological coverage is provided by Susan Ray Schmidt's His Favorite Wife, although that memoir's coverage is primarily the late 60s through the 70s.
Ervil Lebaron , they should have the "r" out of his name. He hurt everyone who was loyal to him, or loved him, just to get his own way.
He had no respect for women and the things his wives and followers endured is beyond belief.
Irene Spencer wrote an earlier book (Shattered Dreams) that I liked much much more. It followed her life. In this one, she was on the sidelines (somewhat), though her and her husband’s lives were in danger. I have to admit, when I started reading it, I was expecting a continuation of her first book (though I don’t recall where her earlier book left off, so maybe there wasn’t much to continue?), so it took me a while to realize that this wasn’t her own story this time, so it took a while to get a little more interested. There are a lot of people, so sometimes hard to remember who’s who. Overall, I’ll rate this one “ok”.