Book Review: "Stolen Innocence" by Elissa Wall

It's May 2025 and the weather is pretty good. Whilst I'm writing this I'm eating nachos but what's new? There's some interesting stuff out on Kindle sales and so, I've been about. One of those books is called Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall. It's a true account of the cult perpetuated by the monstrous Warren Jeffs - a man who's evil cannot be put into words. If you've seen the Netflix documentary Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey then you probably know bits and pieces of what I'm talking about. Let's take a look at just what Elissa Wall has to say about this and, content warning: shit's about to get dark.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was a strange cult (I'm not sure whether it is still around but it was definitely strange) run by a man who is, as I have already stated, simply evil. A polygamous sect which is an off-shoot of Mormonism - it is definitely an extreme version of the original religion. Her mother was also the second of three wives of her father - as is the case in many Mormon households. She grew up in Utah and learnt the odd ways of the Mormon religion. These were the strict doctrines she was taught growing up: obey the men, don't question anything and that polygamy is alright (of course, only for men).

Honestly, I can see where the FLDS comes in, it is just a more extreme version of all of this. It's not completely different and so, Jeffs could just be proclaiming a better lifestyle from the original religion. I've heard some stuff about the Church of Christian Science, so it's basically in the same ballpark - an offshoot of a main religion. So, it's not the same as just joining a cult based off nothing. Warren Jeffs is therefore more malicious than simply a cult leader.

Elissa attended the FLDS-run "Alta Academy", where education was heavily infused with religious teachings. Warren Jeffs slowly inserted himself into the lives of members by having been at first, a high ranking member. He was conducting everyday religious practices and ensuring everyone was behaving themselves on a daily basis. He would emphasise why 'plural marriage' was important and that truly disgusts me. Elissa was taught very much so about a woman's position in the home being to serve her husband and care for her children and, that they had no business in the outside world. This often clashes with Elissa's own dreams of becoming a nurse which is so damn sad to me.

This is probably why women dislike it when we see these men online who preach about having a 'homely wife' because that is the exact language we recognise from women who escaped extreme abuse and often, cults. It isn't cool to keep your wife (and sometimes, your husband) locked up and enslaved without their consent. If that is something they actively want to do, then go ahead. But more than often, it is not.

Later on, as Elissa became a teenager she began being pushed to marry her cousin, Allen Steed. This was something arranged by Warren Jeffs - note that Elissa was fourteen at this time and her cousin was nineteen. Even though she voiced her protests, the marriage went ahead as planned and of course, resulted in tons of abuse. I'm not going to go into details because it was difficult enough to read, I'm not putting that here. It was actually so bad that Elissa ended up sleeping somewhere else entirely in order to escape the abuse she was facing.

There is one rainbow of happiness in this - she meets someone named Lamont Barlow. He was a former member of the church and persuades Elissa to leave the church to embark on a relationship with him instead. This is obviously a huge decision and eventually, Elissa forms a romantic bond with Lamont and runs away with him. She abandons her 'marriage' and her 'family'. I put those in inverted commas because honestly, if you allow your child of 14 years' old to marry her cousin who is older than her then you're not really much of a family are you? Also, Cousin Allen what the hell is wrong with you? Anyways, at least she meets Lamont.

When Warren Jeffs was finally arrested, Elissa offered up her story, becoming one of the people who would finally bring that nightmarish man to justice. I know I haven't said too much about Warren Jeffs but I'll leave you to read about him - honestly, it's terrifying.

All in all, this story was absolutely heartbreaking. Of course, it's great that Elissa got out but the stuff she had to go through first was horrific. I cannot believe that people would stand by and let this happen to literal children. It's angering how many people could have helped these kids and chose not to at the time.