Sixty Reader Reviews on Amazon.com!

★★★★★
Fast read

Usually the polygamy escapists have harrowing tales of abuse to relay. This one was light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek. Almost, dare I say it, a fun read? I would have read it through in one sitting, but my Kindle was running low on batteries from playing Bingo. Shrugs. I was totally on board with the author. She didn’t make excuses for falling into polygamy and didn’t go the “oh, woe is me” route.

—L. Hathaway

★★★★☆
Polygamist humour

Well written and a change from the direct factual account format. I loved Joanne’s humorous spin on life within a Mormon cult. Would have loved another 100 pages. I'm sure there are more stories she could have eeked out of her time with TLC.

—Sydney

★★★★☆
It's a page turner

I thought that this was a really great and even look at what happens in polygamist communities. Yes, I do find it strange that someone who lived a mainstream life could fall so far off the wagon—and I don’t understand what it must feel like to be so very drawn to a man that pronounces that he has a special relationship with God. Or that women, by their very nature, are subordinate. That’s why this book was really interesting and revealing. Great Read!

—Shar

★★★★☆
Easy Read

This book is an easy read. I liked the fact that it wasn't an angry, exposé type of story. Joanne took a humorous approach which I think conveys how she is trying to take her exit from the polygamous Mormon cult she was in. She does a pretty good job of explaining the branch of Mormonism she belonged to and the commonalities as well as differences and is very clear that involvement in the True and Living Church (TLC) of Jesus Christ of the Last Days caused her to be excommunicated from the “mainstream” Mormon church. However, she also does a good job of how the fact that the Mormons have never renounced the revelation on legitimized plural marriage (Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants) leaves the practice of polygamy as an open question for certain types that associate with the Mormon church. In reality the church has just amended their practice of plural marriage to only allow one wife at a time in this mortal life. They, however, continue to believe in plural marriage in the afterlife and so you will find many in the church, including its highest leaders, who are sealed (eternally married) to more than one woman if the previous wife died or was divorced (yep, secular divorce doesn't void the eternal marriage).

Of course a key point of this book is confronting the claim that Mormon polygamous marriage is not about sex. Most Mormons know little about Joseph Smith’s practice of polygamy and how it was instituted. This book glosses over it, but perhaps provides more details than, say, Rough Stone Rolling by Bushman. A better book for the details is In Sacred Loneliness. However, when you know the details and you compare Joseph Smith’s behavior to modern day Mormon polygamists the parallels are striking. It appears that the “revelations” came out of need to justify pretty typical male behavior and institutionalize it. This probably explains why Joanne didn’t go back to mainstream Mormonism or any other religion when she left the TLC. It’s pretty tough to go back once you’ve seen that “the emperor has no clothes” to put the blinders back on.

My reading about Scientology led me on a path out of mainstream Mormonism. Reading this book could do the same for other Mormons who are questioning or have doubts. So a great book for those people but probably not great for died in the wool, true believing Mormons who “know” their church is true and don’t want to examine or question that belief. In that case it would be a tough read to see how the same ways that they “know” the truth were used to convince the members of the TLC that their church was true and that Mormonism is apostate.

—Allan

Joanne Hanks, author of “It's Not About the Sex” My Ass, and David Silverman, present of American Atheists, joined two professors from Mormon Church-owned Brigham Young University for a public “discussion.”

“Not a debate,” everyone agreed. Yeah, right.

Here’s the complete video.

In the Salt Lake area
on April 15?
Hear and meet Joanne Hanks
at this free event.

Atheists & Mormons:
Exposing Myths, Dispelling Stereotypes (Public Perception and Reality)
Free Event — Salt Lake City Public Library

American Atheists will host a panel discussion with two Mormon professors and two atheist experts on Wednesday, April 16 at 7:00 pm at the Salt Lake City Public Library’s Nancy Tessman Auditorium. The public is invited to this free event.

The panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Paul Reeve of the University of Utah, will address public perceptions of atheists and Mormons. The panelists will tackle common stereotypes of both groups, dispel myths, and answer audience questions. The panel is a “warm-up” event for the American Atheists National Convention, which is kicking off the next day (April 17) at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center.

The panel comprises renowned leaders in the public perception of atheists and Mormons. Dr. J.B. Haws, author of The Mormon Image in the American Mind: Fifty Years of Public Perception, and Dr. Richard Holzapfel, prolific author and expert on Latter-Day Saints Church history, will represent Mormon beliefs. Both Haws and Holzapfel are professors at Brigham Young University.

The atheist panelists are American Atheists President David Silverman and Joanne Hanks, author of “It’s Not About the Sex” My Ass: Confessions of an Ex-Mormon Ex-Polygamist Ex-Wife. A book-signing with Professor Haws and Ms. Hanks will follow the Q&A at the close of the panel discussion.

“We are challenging how atheists and religious people think of each other,” said Silverman. “It’s true that many atheist Utahns are ex-Mormons, but many atheists have very little direct experience with Mormons. And many Mormons have very little real-world experience with or knowledge of atheists and how atheism approaches questions of morals, meaning, happiness, and much more. We want to fix that because a better understanding of where we’re all coming from is needed to share political and social space. We’re happy to hear that both sides want to close that gap and are willing to take part in doing so, and we invite the people of Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front to join us.”

Anyone attending the panel or booksigning will also be able to register for the American Atheists National Convention for one-day passes and full convention tickets. The four-day convention runs from Thursday, April 17 to Sunday, April 20 at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center.

For more details about the convention, visit http://www.atheists.org/convention2014

2014 National Convention Promo Video: http://tinyurl.com/AAcon14-promo-video

The main branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library is located at 210 East 400 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. The phone number is (801) 524-8200. The event is in the Nancy Tessman Auditorium (capacity 300) and the speakers will be available from 6:00 to 6:45 for press interviews. The event runs from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM and a book-signing will follow until 9:00 PM.

Joanne Hanks will discuss polygamy
at the American Atheists 2014
National Convention in Salt Lake City

Joanne Hanks has accepted an invitation to co-present a workshop at the American Atheists 2014 National Convention in Salt Lake City. Presenting with her will be Dan Ellis, president of Atheists of Utah, and West Monnett, who appears with his family on a billboard promoting the event (pictured at right). The workshop is scheduled for Thursday, April 17, 2014.