LaVonne W. (Grnemae) - , reviewed Leaving the Saints : How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith on + 451 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
I was prepared to read a scathing expose. That is not what this book is about - rather it is the heart wrenching tale of one woman's journey to overcome deep set religious dogma and abuse in her life. A journey to a faith not linked to any one religion was a difficult and dangerous trip for Ms Beck. While this is the story of a woman raised as a Mormon, this could have been a woman from any organized religion making the same realizations and decisions in her life. This is a haunting story that once started is hard to put aside.
Jennie B. (MyLikeIt) reviewed Leaving the Saints : How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith on + 450 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Beck writes with unusual candor and humor. I found myself in tears at the end of the book, as Beck describes her deep love for those she's left behind without regret. A poignant call to healing and joy. Recommended.
Helpful Score: 2
Interesting recollection of a painful LDS past and a new spiritual journey. Kudos to the author for leaving the cult-like LDS patriarchy and finding a role for herself in the "outside" world. Hard to believe that the secrecy within the LDS is so well-guarded that the author has feared for her own life after telling her story. Definitely worth the read.
Terri E. (stocktonmalonefan) - reviewed Leaving the Saints : How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith on + 58 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was very easy to read and believable. I found it very interesting to read about some of the rules of the LDS, some I'd heard of before. It isn't a negative review of LDS. It's more a book about finding what your own beliefs are and following what you believe to be true. Having been raised in a very strict religious home, I understood exactly what she meant about finding her own way. An excellent read, I would highly recommend it!
Chris B. (ceebab) reviewed Leaving the Saints : How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I don't like it as much as Martha's other books. It's ok, but the scenes with her dad have a lot of conjecture of what he's thinking, which I'm not crazy about.
It's interesting, but maybe I'm just not the target audience for this one.
It's interesting, but maybe I'm just not the target audience for this one.
Deborah S. (aslo-white) reviewed Leaving the Saints : How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
An interesting read, mainly for the insider's view of the workings of the LDS church. This book is more of a personal testimony than I expected, but still worth reading. For an absolutely superb historical review of Mormonism and the splintering of the church into fundamentalism and a more culturally palatable version, read "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer.
This book seems rather sketchy to me. I know many mormons and they are all good people.
Pai E. - , reviewed Leaving the Saints : How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith on + 11 more book reviews
Wonderful!
Betsy L. reviewed Leaving the Saints : How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith on + 4 more book reviews
Perhaps the best book I read all year.