The Polygamist’s Daughter by Anna LeBaron

I’m not quite sure how my fascination with polygamy began. It may have been a news report that sparked my curiosity, or perhaps it was an article in a magazine, or an interview on a talk show. However it started, I’m usually unable to pass up the chance to read the memoir of someone who chose to share their personal experiences of such a life.

Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife: My Story of Finding Hope after Domestic Abuse by Ruth A. Tucker

I’m having trouble deciding how I feel about this book. While I didn’t want to read a detailed accounting of all the abuse Tucker went through in her first marriage, I expected that most of the book would deal with that, given the title and subtitle of the book. Instead, the largest part of the book consisted of the stories of other abuse survivors and discussion about male headship. All topics were interesting to read, but the reason I chose to read this book was an interest in Ruth’s story. I knew there was more to the book than that, but I assumed that would make up the larger portion of the book.

What It Was Like… Short Stories of Childhood Memories of Segregation in America by Lois Watkins

By the time I started going to school, legally enforced segregation was a thing of the past. I never saw the ‘whites only’ and ‘colored only’ signs once displayed everywhere in the South. I didn’t know that in the not-so-distant past there were places African-Americans were not allowed to go, things they were not allowed to do. And I didn’t think it was upsetting to have an African-American boy in my class. I do clearly remember being curious about why his skin color was so different from mine when I first saw him, but only for a little while before I shrugged it off and decided it didn’t matter. He was just a boy going to school for the first time, the same as me.

Late, Late at Night by Rick Springfield

This review was originally published on Goodreads on February 25, 2012.

I’ve struggled a bit with how I would write this review. Normally, I would make mention of different bits and pieces I particularly enjoyed, and have plenty to say about the book overall. That’s not going to happen with this review.