Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy [Paperback]

Dorothy Allred Solomon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2004

"Probably the best book ever written about polygamy. Neither an apologia nor an exposé."—Salt Lake City Tribune

"I am the daughter of my father's fourth plural wife, twenty-eighth of forty-eight children—a middle kid, you might say."

So begins this astonishing and poignant memoir of life in the family of Utah fundamentalist leader and naturopathic physician Rulon C. Allred. Since polygamy was abolished by manifesto in 1890, this is a story of secrecy and lies, of poverty and imprisonment and government raids. When raids threatened, the families were forced to scatter from their pastoral compound in Salt Lake City to the deserts of Mexico or the wilds of Montana. To follow the Lord's plan as dictated by the Principle, the human cost was huge. Eventually murder in its cruelest form entered when members of a rival fundamentalist group assassinated the author's father.

Dorothy Solomon, monogamous herself, broke from the fundamentalist group because she yearned for equality and could not reconcile the laws of God (as practiced by polygamists) with the vastly different laws of the state. This poignant account chronicles her brave quest for personal identity. Originally published in hardcover under the title Predators, Prey, and Other Kinfolk.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[An] amazing story. (Pam Houston )

Written with courage, compassion, and an uncommon wisdom.... This book is a reckoning with truth. (Terry Tempest Williams )

Solomon succeeds so admirably where Krakauer fails. She has produced a book sprinkled with both beauty and 'indelible sadness'. (Boston Sunday Globe )

I have never read a memoir that moved me so deeply. (Teresa Jordan )

Her harrowing family history and bracingly vivid, frequently poetic memoir is a document of consistent fascination and intermittently astonishing power. (Elle )

Bold and strongly imagined...takes us deep to the heart of a family story that is both strange and familiar. (Kim Barnes )

A wise and moving memoir that should be read by anyone interested in how we configure our relationships. (Judith Freeman )

About the Author

Dorothy Allred Solomon lives in Park City, Utah. She is the recipient of several awards from the Utah Arts Council and a Governor's Media Award for Excellence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (October 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393325776
• ISBN-13: 978-0393325775
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( D ) > Day, Dorothy
  • #79 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Mormonism

More About the Author

'I am the only daughter of my father's fourth plural wife, twenty-eighth of forty-eight children'a middle kid, you might say, with a middle kid's propensity for identity crisis.' This first line from chapter one of Daughter of the Saints defines my place in the family constellation and the dilemmas I've faced throughout my life. I believe I've had a happier childhood than most people; nonetheless my family was plagued by secrecy and lies, by poverty and the threat of prison and government raids. I was unable to reconcile the inequities and illegalities of the polygamous lifestyle and broke with the fundamentalist group to marry my high school sweetheart. Now, nearly forty years and four children and a growing number of grandchildren later, I know that monogamy can be as challenging as polygamy seemed to be, and that happiness is a do-it-yourself project. My husband, a Vietnam veteran, has been an example of courage and commitment in the face of discouraging odds, and he has inspired me to keep on the path of purpose.
I have worked as a transformational trainer with Lifespring, Rising Star Communication Training, VisionWorks and Emerald City, designing and delivering communication seminars for corporations, small businesses, organizations, families, couples, adults, teens and children. I conduct life coaching programs for various clients who inspire and thrill me with their success. I've always written and I've always loved writing, except when I hate it. I've published the following books: In My Father's House, which won first prize for biography in the Utah State Writing Contest and the Publisher's Prize; Inside Out: A Guide to Creative Writing in the Classroom; Predators, Prey, and Other Kinfolk (hardbound) and Daughter of the Saints which also won first prize in the Utah State Writing Contest and also won the WILLA for memoir in 2004; and The Sisterhood: Inside the Lives of Mormon Women, due for publication in 2007. I've also published essays, articles, stories and books in various magazines and journals, receiving a variety of awards and honors, including a Sigma Delta Chi award, an award from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a Governor's Media Award for Excellence. I am a happier and a better person when I'm writing than when I am not.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Daddy Dearest, October 24, 2004

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy (Paperback)

This was obviously a difficult book to write after years of silence as a way of life for a woman who grew up in a plural marriage. Dorothy's father, Rulon C. Allred, believed he was called to live in the Principle of Plural Marriage, which was dissolved by the church elders in 1890. Dorothy is the twenty-eighth of forty-eight children and has a unique perspective, a child among many siblings with an intimate view of the daily lives of sister-wives, as the women called themselves. Sister-wives formed a mutual support system, sharing chores and the rearing of children, as well as their husband.

Over the years, political pressure was put upon the Church of the Latter Day Saints to desist from plural marriages and confine their member to monogamy. Still, there were those who held to the fundamentalist tenets of a patriarchal religion that allowed a man more than one wife on his path toward sainthood. Eventually, many of these families were fragmented in order to avoid arrest; either that, or they moved where they would not be prosecuted, to such countries as Mexico. The Allred's fled to Mexico to avoid the law, but it was inhospitable, barely endurable for a growing tribe whose basic needs were barely met. Rulon would leave the family compound in Mexico, returning to Utah to maintain his chiropractic office with his one legal wife, who remained in Utah.

This is an shocking story, as the author reveals the hardships endured by the extended families of men who practiced The Principle. Besides the fact that first wives agonized over whether to participate in the marriages, there was the human dissatisfaction of sharing a husband, although most sister-wives succumbed to intense pressure from the men. At least they had a choice in the matter. None of the children had a choice and it is the children who suffered from a lifestyle that forced them to lie about family circumstances and constantly uprooted them from place to place to avoid their parent's being sent to jail. This only made their lives more tenuous, both children and wives making money by whatever means possible.

The author grapples with her love for her father and his complicity in causing such hardship for his children. While she faces most of the difficult truths, there is a constant tendency to rationalize Rulon's behavior, especially after he is murdered by another fanatical faction of polygamists. In the end, it is telling that Solomon chooses monogamy for herself, as do many of her siblings. However, the psychological damage to the children is immeasurable; such problems as incest and child abuse are virtually ignored, rather than bring attention to the family lifestyle. Yet Solomon is as rigorous as she is able in assessing her life in such an archaic arrangement, dedicated to speaking her truths and shining light into the darkness:" The family orchards are bearing their harvest and some of it is bitter." Luan Gaines/2004.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Honest, Inside Look at Polygamy, April 28, 2007

By 

S. McBride (Chico, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy (Paperback)

I was moved by Solomon's courage in speaking so honestly about her upbringing in a polygamist world. In this articulate, reflective, and often poetic memoir, she captures the beauty and suffering which come from living a hidden life among an abundance of family--where she is both comforted and lost. Being an intelligent, strong-willed child, she ultimately cannot accept a lifestyle where women aren't allowed to question their predicament and are expected to dedicate their lives to God by sharing a husband and birthing numerous children. In this courageous memoir, Solomon tells stories of her upbringing, speaking with love and empathy for her family yet refusing to paint a false picture of what it means to be a child of polygamy. Her intention, clearly, is to tell the truth.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Daughter of the Saints, August 21, 2007

By 

Sally Smith (Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy (Paperback)

If you want to know what it's really like growing up in polygamy and living "the principle", forget Big Love and Jon Krakauer. Go to the source. Dorothy Solomon is the "middle child" in a family of 48 brothers and sisters. She is the daughter of murdered polygamist leader Rulon Allred. She knows what she is talking about. And she is an award-winning writer. If language matters to you, read this book. It was originally published in hardcover by Norton, for heaven's sake; it's hard to get published by Norton.