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Favorite Wife
- Escape from Polygamy
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs
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Summary
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.
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What listeners say about Favorite Wife
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Brendamo
- 20-03-20
Hard Life
I really enjoyed this book though quite a lot of it was for me anyway, hard to listen to. I know the women were born into these beliefs but I don’t understand how any woman could put up with the sort of life Susan endured for years. Her husband to me anyway sounds like an incredibly selfish man who put his own needs before anything else and was only interested in amassing as many wife’s as possible. I don’t know how Susan managed to stay with him as long as she did. Am glad she found the courage to leave and hope her and her children are enjoying a better life now.
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- Franklymydarling
- 24-09-19
Holding my breath with suspense!
This is an engaging and interesting book where you end up really caring for Susan and her fate. You want her to be happy and listen to how she endures countless trials.
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- Miss. S. Chandrapalan
- 06-08-19
Eye opening
Really enjoyed this book, it's made me understand why some follow polygamy and why in the end they leave. It's really a sad story to think the lives of these women have been so limited due to their beliefs. Even though there are so many names mentioned in the book, it was fine to follow in the end.
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- courtney
- 06-06-19
Great story
Very moving story of a very courageous woman. engaging and heartfelt, greatly enjoyed the book
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- BarB
- 30-03-20
If you have 22 hours to kill...
Find something else to do with it. This was literally one of the worst memoirs I’ve ever listened to- in fact, I had to listen on 1.5 speed just to get through the book. I had listened to Irene Spencer’s book Shattered Dreams and really enjoyed it. You could tell through her book that she accepted the very difficult life of a polygamist wife, and although it was hard, she wasn’t whining through it. Susan’s story read like a teenager’s diary. Seriously, every meal she made, every hissy fit she threw, every dress she made, etc.. you get the idea. I was fascinated by the story of the LaBaron clan, especially the Blood Atonement aspect of Ervil LaBaron and how he recruited people to kill for him in the name of God. I thought this would tell the story from Susan’s perspective and how the family survived. That was kind of always hanging in the background, but didn’t show up until there were 6 hours left of the story. So where did the first 16 hours go? That’s the whining part of Susan’s life. I don’t think she wrote this book to be enjoyed- I think she wrote it instead of spending a bunch of money on therapy. She did not take responsibility for her role in living this lifestyle. She blamed everyone else for her misery in life and I spent 22 hours waiting for the story to get better. If I could’ve returned this title, I would’ve. Since I couldn’t, I forced myself to listen to it. I’m trying to save you the money and the time.
9 people found this helpful
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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!!
3 people found this helpful
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- Tunnelsnakesfool
- 05-09-21
There's better autobiographys around polygamy
I gave read about 13 autobiographys about polygamy, this is the only one I couldn't finish. The authors portrayal of people of color comes off racist.
2 people found this helpful
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- jennifer
- 10-03-19
excellent account
I enjoy hearing the stories from those who have lived polygamy and Susan does a wonderful job bringing details to life! highly recommend this one!
2 people found this helpful
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- bri
- 28-12-21
Oh my Word
What an eye opener on this religion. Wow, just wow. What a brave woman! I'm glad she found the Truth, and can show others the Way to the one true God. How lonely this religion must be, and I had no clue there was that much crime involved too.
1 person found this helpful
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- Shauna K. Wimmer
- 12-09-20
Extremely compelling true story!!
i couldn't stop listening to this very compelling true story!!! I "binge-listened." Highly recommended for anyone interested in hearing a first-hand account of polygamy.
1 person found this helpful
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- JS
- 01-02-20
eye opening
to hear it from an actual wife was eye opening. The struggles and fears are explained so vividly to people who have no clue what their lives were like. It is far from what "Sister wives" depicts. truthful and riviting.
1 person found this helpful
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- Rudy
- 30-11-19
Interesting Story!
The story was so intriguing, but I felt like the writing was a little off. There were so many adjectives used. Like SO many! And adverbs, Wow. I have never heard the word "gingerly" used so many times! The language just seemed a little flowery and over-descriptive at times. Maybe the author has a thing for eyes, but she seemed to describe every person's eyes in every conversation they had.
The performance of the narrator was odd. There were so many words and names mispronounced, which I understand, because they are not well known names. If you are not familiar with Mormon terms and names, you'd never notice.
It is definitely worth listening to! I would recommend it.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 18-03-22
I loved it ☺️
this book was amazing I have been following the LeBaron story for a little while now I find it very interesting Susan is a very strong woman and I think it's awesome she found the strength to tell her story this is amazing book and I highly recommend it it keeps you on the edge and wanting more
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-01-22
Spell Binding
Unbelievable courage to tell her story. Loved every chapter. And felt compassion for her too. The person who wrote a bad review is very judgmental. It’d be easy to get swept up in a lifestyle you didn’t agree with if raised to believe it’s the correct way. If you Susan ever read your reviews please check out JW.org for answers to meaningful questions.