From psychologist Barbara A. Drescher:

“I’ve been waiting for this book to become available so that I could share how much I enjoyed reading it. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in polygamy, cults, belief in the unbelievable, or just a good story. 

“It's a bit sad at times, but mostly hilarious. The authors (Joanne Hanks, whose story is told in it, wrote the book with Steve Cuno) manage to discuss cult behavior and ridiculous beliefs without making the believers look stupid. Joanne and her husband slid slowly down the rabbit hole and it seems to me that intelligence actually helped them slide further because it allowed them to find justifications for just about anything. 

“And you won't believe the stuff they had to swallow to maintain their beliefs. Some of it is downright bizarre.

“I was very impressed with how they managed to keep from ridiculing believers/cult members and showing how easy it was for what are clearly intelligent people to fall for what most of us would immediately tag as utterly ridiculous. Perhaps that's because it was told from her perspective.”

From direct marketing guru Robert Rosenthal:

“Fascinating book title, don't ya think? The subtitle is ‘Confessions of an ex-Mormon, ex-polygamist, ex-wife.’ ... I wouldn't be surprised if it lands on the New York Times bestseller list.”

Great news — the book is available NOW in hardcover, softcover or Kindle. For information on pricing and ordering, please click here. (Soon available on Nook and iBooks, too.)

AuthorHouse just informed us that they will not publish a book with “Ass” on the cover. They want to render it “A**.” 

Come on. Even here, in this blog post, A** looks silly. Worse, it wrecks the brand. We developed the title to distinguish our book from others about polygamy. It sets up a promise of humor and sarcasm that the book pays off. It allows readers to identify with Joanne—or not. That is what branding is all about.

This is not a book about sex. It is a book about the dangers of cults. 

The use of “My Ass” is idiomatic. It means “I don’t believe it.” Nothing unseemly about that. (We found it interesting that AuthorHouse was fine with “Ass” on title pages and atop every page of text. If it’s OK for the inside, it’s OK for the outside.)

We said no to the cover change. Neither AuthorHouse nor we would budge, so they are no longer our publisher. Turns out they did us a favor. We found another way to get the book out, still in hard copy and e-reader editions and through all major distributors — faster and for less money. You should still be able to order your copy around the end of July.