The author of The New York Times bestseller Escape returns with a moving and inspirational tale of her life after she heroically fled the cult she’d been raised in, her hard-won new identity and happiness, and her determination to win justice for the crimes committed against her family.
In 2003, Carolyn Jessop, 35, a lifelong member of the extremist Mormon sect the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), gathered up her eight children, including her profoundly disabled four-year-old son, and escaped in the middle of the night to freedom. Jessop detailed the story of her harrowing flight and the shocking conditions that sparked it in her 2007 memoir, Escape. Reveling in her newfound identity as a bestselling author, a devoted mom, and a loving companion to the wonderful man in her life, Jessop thought she had put her past firmly behind her.
Then, on April 3, 2008, it came roaring back in full view of millions of television viewers across America. On that date, the state of Texas, acting on a tip from a young girl who’d called a hotline alleging abuse, staged a surprise raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch, a sprawling, 1700-acre compound near Eldorado, Texas, to which the jailed FLDS “prophet” Warren Jeffs had relocated his sect’s most “worthy” members three years earlier. The ranch was being run by Merril Jessop, Carolyn’s ex-husband and one of the cult’s most powerful leaders. As a mesmerized nation watched the crisis unfold, Jessop once more was drawn into the fray, this time as an expert called upon to help authorities understand the customs and beliefs of the extremist religious sect with which they were dealing.
In Triumph, Jessop tells the real, and even more harrowing, story behind the raid and sets the public straight on much of the damaging misinformation that flooded the media in its aftermath. She recounts the setbacks (the tragic decision of the Supreme Court of Texas to allow the children in state custody to return to their parents) as well as the successes (the fact that evidence seized in the raid is the basis for the string of criminal trials of FLDS leaders that began in October 2009 and will continue throughout 2010), all while weaving in details of her own life since the publication of her first book. These include her budding role as a social critic and her struggle to make peace with her eldest daughter’s heartbreaking decision to return to the cult.
In the book’s second half, Jessop shares with readers the sources of the strength that allowed her not only to survive and eventually break free of FLDS mind control, but also to flourish in her new life. The tools of her transformation range from powerful female role models (grandmothers on both sides) to Curves fitness clubs (a secret indulgence that put her in touch with her body) to her college education (rare among FLDS women). With her characteristic honesty and steadfast sense of justice, Jessop, a trained educator who taught elementary school for seven years, shares her strong opinions on such controversial topics as homeschooling and the need for the court system to hold “deadbeat dads” accountable. (Among Jessop’s recent victories is a court decision that ordered her ex-husband to pay years of back child support.) An extraordinary woman who has overcome countless challenges and tragedies in her life, Jessop shows us in this book how, in spite of everything, she has triumphed—and how you can, too, no matter what adversity you face. Views: 527
Sam and Rachel are on the grift, on the make, and on the run. Long time grifters and lovers, the couple is in St. Louis to run a con on Barry Jacobsen, who owns a concrete business. But the clock is ticking on the deal, and on them. Mobsters from Philadelphia are one step behind, seeking revenge for the pair's most recent scam. Caught between the dangers of this con being discovered and a mafia hit man finding them before they can wrap it up, Sam and Rachel walk a thin line of balance, striving to walk away with the money and their lives before their past catches up to them. Episodes in the A Grifter's Song series: The Concrete Smile by Frank Zafiro People Like Us by J.D. Rhoades The Whale by Lawrence Kelter The Movie Makers by Gary Phillips Lost in Middle America by Colin Conway Losing Streak by Jim Wilsky Views: 527
After a failed suicide attempt, terminal cancer patient Mark Briggs embarks on a cross country trek with his three best friends in the hope of seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It doesn't take long for the boys to realize they may be in over their heads. The Lost and Found is a comical look at friendship, love, life and death.Magdalene did not know she had fallen asleep until she woke up. She blinked her eyes tiredly trying to bring her surroundings into focus. She briefly wondered where she was then remembered she had been on a plane. She stretched glade she no had had no dreams. As she stretched she felt her hand scrape something hard and rough. Magdalene’s face scrunched up as she felt the odd texture. It felt like stone but she knew there was no stone on the airplane. She opened her eyes and looked around the dim lighting. Then she screamed. Views: 527
Christmas has never been a particularly good time for Dr Kay Scarpetta. Although a holiday for most, the festivities always seem to heighten the alienation felt by society's violent fringe; and that usually means more work for Scarpetta, Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner and consulting forensic pathologist for the FBI.
The body was naked, female, and found propped against a fountain in a bleak area of New York's Central Park. Her apparent manner of death points to a modus operandi that is chillingly familar: the gunshot wound to the head, the sections of skin excised from the body, the displayed corpse - all suggest that Temple Brooks Gault, Scarpetta's nemesis, is back at work.
Calling on all her reserves of courage and skill, and the able assistance of colleagues Marino and Wesley, Scarpetta must track this most dangerous of killers in pursuit of survival as well as justice - heading inexorably to an electrifying climax amid the dark, menacing labyrinths of the New York subway. Views: 526
Narcotics officer Cal Moore's orders were to look into the city's latest drug killing. Instead, he ends up in a motel room with a fatal bullet wound to the head and a suicide note stuffed in his back pocket. Working the case, LAPD detective Harry Bosch is reminded of the primal police rule he learned long ago: Don't look for the facts, but the glue that holds them together. Soon Harry's making some very dangerous connections, starting with a dead cop and leading to a bloody string of murders that wind from Hollywood Boulevard to the back alleys south of the border. Now this battle-scarred veteran will find himself in the center of a complex and deadly game-one in which he may be the next and likeliest victim. Views: 526
There is always hope.Northern France is a frozen morass of mud and snow across which rampages a horde of the undead, a hundred million strong. That won't stop Chester Carson and his comrades. Seeking a way across the Channel, they make for the coast, unaware that Britain has been abandoned, Belfast is a ruin, and that radiation is seeping into the Irish Sea. If they knew, that wouldn't stop them either. They're on a quest to save their family, their friends, and humanity itself; failure is not an option.As they journey through war-ravaged ports and storm-wrecked beaches, a new truth becomes clear. The flotilla that found refuge on Anglesey wasn't the only group of sea-borne refugees to have survived the outbreak. There are other survivors. Some good, some evil, some just determined to do their duty no matter the cost.Danger lurks along the French and Belgian coasts. So do answers, and hope that humanity now has a future. Views: 525
SLEUTHING FOR BEGINNERS: Angela decides to play detective when her neighbour dies suddenly. A PEACEFUL DEATH: George is visited by the Angel of Death, who makes some unusual demands.A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND: Ali sets out to find her dead uncle's secret, ill-gotten fortune.THE MUSE: Esther is a struggling writer until she meets her muse, who turns her world upside down.Four short comedy stories – with a blend of mystery and a dash of supernatural ‘I recommend these stories to those who enjoy a bit of the macabre with a blend of mystery and a twist of supernatural on the side.’ Readers’ FavouriteSLEUTHING FOR BEGINNERS Angela has always had a secret ambition to be a private detective. After her neighbour dies suddenly she launches her own investigation, with unexpected results. A PEACEFUL DEATH George, who has been obsessed with death since his father died, is visited by The Angel of Death, who strikes an unusual bargain. A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND Ali, the sole beneficiary of her uncle’s will, learns that he may have a secret, ill-gotten fortune stashed away. But she soon finds out she’s not the only one determined to find it. THE MUSE Esther, a struggling romance writer, meets her muse Alfred, and he moves in, providing her with a constant source of inspiration. But is the cost too high?If you like comedy, mystery and fantasy, and you’re looking for a book you can read on the train or in a couple of spare hours, this book of short stories is for you.‘I love Robin Storey's dry wit and realistic characterization of the foibles of human nature.’ Pamela Mariko. Views: 524
A collection of poems and short stories. The poetry is inspired by emotions. Anger, joy, love and spirituality all find their way out in them. The short stories are studies in different genres. There is humor in the Wiki-esque biography of Popeye the Sailor and the irreverent "When the Music Stops", fantasy in the "Bonds of War" and drama in "Silver Lining".A collection of poems and short stories. The poetry is inspired by emotions. Anger, joy, love and spirituality all find their way out in them.The short stories are studies in different genres. There is humor in the Wiki-esque biography of Popeye the Sailor and the irreverent "When the Music Stops", fantasy in the "Bonds of War" and drama in "Silver Lining".It is my hope that you will find something in these pages that will give you pause. Pause to remember the simplicity of a child's laughter, the joy of discovery, the realization that love has found you or just the unadulterated ability to laugh.Life has shown me so many of the stories and poems in this book. Life has shown you the stories that made you who you are. Take the time to allow your own tales find their way back into your memories. Let my stories remind you of your own forgotten treasure. Views: 524
