Book: Contemporary Plural Wives Tell Experiences
Contemporary Plural Wives Tell
Experiences
New Book on Polygamy Released
December 1, 2000 –
Salt Lake City, Utah – A new book about contemporary polygamy was announced Friday, December 1st, and is now available for purchase. Voices in Harmony: Contemporary Women Celebrate Plural Marriage contains 100 original essays written by women sharing personal stories about their experiences in polygamy. Several scholars and professionals who have published works on the topic of polygamy indicate the book to be of interest and value.
The new book “adds a missing link in our efforts to better understand the principle. …it is an important contribution to the growing body of literature about the practice of plural marriage,” according to University of Utah Professor Martha Sonntag Bradley, author of Kidnapped from That Land: The Government Raids on the Short Creek Polygamists.
Mormon Historian Michael Quinn writes, “This is a book without parallel for those interested in studying modern American family life. Even the most casual reader will be interested… These women’s personal essays do not fit the outsider’s stereotypes. From 19-year-olds to women of retirement age, these plural wives are intelligent, articulate, and integrated within modern society. An outsider may regard their faith as odd and their devotion to plural marriage as even stranger, but this book reveals these plural wives as diverse, devout, intelligent and interesting women.”
Another author, who has written several articles about Mormons and the law, Attorney Ken Driggs, said, “Fundamentalist Mormons have rarely been allowed to tell their own story, especially the women who elect to enter plural marriage. This book listens respectfully to these women who write about their lives based upon belief and tradition, and they should be taken seriously. …There simply is nothing else available which gives the reader these insights.”
According to its compilers, Mary Batchelor, Marianne Watson, and Anne Wilde, who have privately published the first edition, most of the plural wives who submitted essays for inclusion in Voices in Harmony are speaking publicly for the first time. “This publication has provided them a medium, through anonymity, wherein they felt comfortable in sharing their perspectives,” the three compilers say. “In the current discourse on plural marriage, the voices of the women who actually live it should be heard.”
Professors Irwin Altman and Joseph Ginat, co-authors of Polygamous Families in Contemporary Society, recommend the volume as “well worth reading” and say “it can contribute to informed, constructive and rational discussions and policy making regarding this unusual American family lifestyle.”
The 250-page hard-bound book retails for $20, and is available on Amazon.
For More Information Contact:
Anne Wilde or Mary Batchelor at Admin at principlevoices.org
