"A riveting account of a journey home, a family crisis, and a spiritual
search. Memoirist Beck (Expecting Adam, 1998, etc.) returns to Mormon-land
with her husband and two small children. Her younger child was born with
Down syndrome, and the Becks decided that their hometown in Utah would offer
a better environment for raising young Adam than the cutthroat world of Harvard
Square (where everyone had pressed the Becks to abort as soon as the amnio
results were in). Indeed, they are welcomed with open arms, shiny smiles,
and many casseroles, and both Becks find posts at Brigham Young University,
that bastion of Latter-day Saint higher education. But it's a rough time
to be at BYU, since the church hierarchies are weeding out intellectual Mormon
dissidents. (Beck is instructed to teach "Sociology of Gender" without
using the word "feminism.") Beck watches in horror as the church's
crackdown culminates in the trials of the famous September Six, LDS scholars
tried for heresy (five were excommunicated). Despite all the neighborly support,
Beck is plagued with inexplicable pain, nightmares, and, ultimately, previously
repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse by her father, a prominent Mormon
apologist. Finally, deciding they can't stay in Utah, the family leaves both
the state and the church. But Beck remains ardently spiritual, finding faith
in a generous God who, she knows, loves her even more than she loves her
own children. Her sarcastic self-scrutiny and laugh-out-loud prose elevate
her story far above the run-of-the-mill dysfunctional family memoir. And
though Beck is critical of the LDS Church--its attempts to cover-up sexual
assaults in Mormon homes, its refusal to deal with historical and archaeological
finds that challenge orthodox doctrine--this is not a trashy expose but a
loving, sad account of coming home again, however sure it is to spark controversy
in the corridors of power in Salt Lake City. Set aside an evening when you
won't be interrupted, lay in boxes of Kleenex, and give yourself to a gripping
memoir." - Kirkus Reviews
"Martha Beck's riveting memoir teaches us more about love, spirituality,
trauma, truth-telling and hope than all the self-help books combined.
It is one of the bravest, most achingly honest books I've read in years. Leaving
the Saints is a priceless gift." - Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., author
of The Dance of Anger
"Very sad. Very brave. Very true. Martha Beck has written a universal story for
anyone who has confronted physical and spiritual abuse and freed themselves from
the tenacious grip of Patriarchy." - Terry Tempest Williams, author of Refuge and
The Open Space of Democracy
"Leaving the Saints is a brave book. Martha Beck shares her journey
out of religion and into faith and healing with heartbreaking
candor, softened by wit and uplifted by a deep spiritual longing." - Sharon Salzberg,
author of Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience
"A courageous, touching, and beautifully written spiritual journey of the heart.
I applaud Martha's candidness and perseverance in her steadfast pursuit of the
power of love." - Judith Orloff, M.D., author of Positive Energy
and Guide to Intuitive Healing
The paperback edition of Leaving the Saints: How
I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith is
published by Three Rivers Press. The hardcover edition is published by Crown
Books, a division of Random House. The book is also available in audio
CD, abridged audio
cassette,
abridged
audio
CD,
and abridged downloadable audiobook versions.
Order from your nearest independent book store at BookSense.com or
online at Powells.com, amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.
