Janet’s Book Nook

My latest book review is of Stolen Innocence which was written by Elissa Wall. Elissa is the young lady who was instrumental in the prosecution of Warren Jeffs for accessory to rape for his part in forcing her in to a marriage to her first cousin when she was just 14 years old. I have to say that I was enthralled with this book and read the whole book in about 3 days. She has an easy nature in her writing and you truly feel as though she is in front of you telling you her story.

I find her story heartbreaking. The trials and hurt she faced from the time she was a small child were unthinkable. Unlike the other FLDS book I read by Carolyn Jessop this family was never really able to live up to what the FLDS required of them. She lost the majority of her family as a child because of their inability to follow the rules of the church to a tee. Her older brothers and sisters were all eventually sent away and she also lost her father. Her mother and younger sisters were given to another man of the church and they were forced to fore sake all of the family members they had lost.

At 14 she forced to marry a man who was her first cousin and whom she detested most of her life.  She begged that she would be spared but her pleas were all ignored and she was continually told to "be sweet" and to follow what the prophet wanted for her. Finally she had no choice but to follow the prophet and allow herself to be married to a man she hated. The real problems came immediately afterward when she realized that marriage meant he would have to submit to him in sexual ways. She was appalled and held him off as long as she could until her finally started raping her.

Elissa stayed in this marriage for 4 years before she finally left after meeting a man who helped her see that she deserved better. She also began to realize that God would never have chosen for her to live this way. Once she was out of the church and reunited with her siblings she was prodded to go to the authorities so that Warren Jeffs could be held accountable for his despicable actions. In the end she did and he was found guilty on two counts of accessory to rape. He still has a long line of cases to be tried for including a possible retrial on Elissa’s case.

After the trial Elissa married the man she left the FLDS with and they have two beautiful children. They live a fairly normal life by all accounts except that her mother and two sisters are still caught up in the FLDS. The church has secreted her mother and sisters away so that she can’t contact them. She has decided to become an activist for women and children in the FLDS. She helped the authorities in Texas with the handling of the women and children who were recently taken from the Yearning for Zion camp.

She is truly an example of someone who had been able to overcome a lifetime of teachings and made her life what she wanted it to be. She hasn’t turned from God. She says that she just prays to him that his will be done and she trusts that he is going to lead her in the right direction.

I love the writing style in this book because it feels so casual. I was a little disappointed with the editing of it as I found many mistakes in the book but it could be that it is newly released and the kinks need to ironed out. The photos help to put faces to names and I ended this booking feeling like I had made a new friend. Enjoy!

I think that the majority of us can say that we have spent a lot of time in the past 10 years trying out ideas for losing weight that seemed healthy at first. I realized this weekend that I have put my body through a horrible ordeal over the last 10 years. I have abused it by constantly changing my dieting habits. Starve one minute. Gorge the next. No meats this month. No carbs the next. No sugars the next. It is no wonder that I ache when I walk and that my behind end feels like an extra person trailing behind me. I was thinking about this all weekend and decided that it must be time to go back to basics. First I need to do a basic exercise program that requires nothing more than me walking from point A to point B. This will be my effort to loosen up my body and joints and make it easier for me to add more strenuous things later. The next thing I did was research Orovo and a few other places looking for healthy supplements for my diet. No matter how I try I have to accept that I will be missing something and so supplements will help to fill the gap. The problem is that in the past I would have chosen something that was not healthy for me and was merely focused on revving up my metabolism so I could lose weight. With the idea being health and the byproduct being weight-loss then I have to chose products that are healthy above all else. I also have committed to drinking water as my main source of liquids and hydration. I will have caffeine free, sugar free iced tea as my beverage with meals so that I will get taste without loading up on the extra sugars and calories. Finally my diet will change to include fun, crisp veggies and high protein fish and chicken with red meats being cut back to once a week. I am tired of feeling old before my time.

I told you guys a while back about how I use the Passporter Planner for my Disney vacations. Well if any of you were interested in trying out this useful tool  to see if you would like they are offering a special. You can get the 2007 Passporter for $1 plus shipping and handling. While the information may be a little out of date it does come with the planning envelopes and maps which are well worth the price alone. Many people will wait and buy the out of date ones to get the extra maps and envelopes to use with their current guides. I will be doing this for sure. Just go to the Passporter main site and click on store. You will see a link for the $1 guides at the top of the page. Enjoy!

School has started back up and I am trying to get everything organized again. It seems like summer always makes the whole house go to heck in a handbag. I think that I will start with the kitchen first this year. I realized last night that I have so much stuff in my pantry in little plastic containers but I have to take each thing out to see what it is when I want to use it. I think the best way to handle this is to get one of those label makers and labeling all of the containers. Then I got to thinking that I could make labels for the shelves so that everyone knows exactly where things go so it doesn’t end up a mess again. I found an awesome labeler on Dymo that can be used for this and so many other things.

Then I got to thinking that I could use this machine to organize the kids school stuff. I could make labels for File folders to put their paperwork for school in so it doesn’t get lost or tossed. I can make labels for their school bags and supplies. Not to mention the sweaters and sweatshirts that always get lost. They also have lunch boxes that could be labeled. At the same time we started our dancing classes last night and now need to keep track of leotards, ballet shoes, tap shoes and dance bags multiplied by two. The things I could use this machine for seem endless in my house. I need to organize my file cabinet with all of my paperwork for the house in it. I can make labels so that I am better able to put the papers where they belong. I am hoping that this labeling system will help to get and keep things running smoothly this year. The kids are old enough now to be able to understand the labels and put the items in their place.

I finished James Patterson’s latest book last night. When I first started this book I was very concerned that it was going to be very predictable. The characters were interesting enough and the storyline was good but I could see what was going to happen next at every turn. That changed toward the end of the book when the predictability went out of the window.

This book is centered around a female heart surgeon who has lost connections with most of her children. Her first husband passed away and she has remarried. Her teenage son and daughter are caught up in their own vices and addictions and her youngest son is turning to food to calm his fears. She decides to take them all on a sailing trip to help them reconnect and bond. This trip is doomed from the very beginning and in the end the family is brought together by the felonious actions of someone very close to the family.

While  I don’t count this book as one of Patterson’s best books it was enthralling enough to keep my attention and I was able to read it in about three days. I recommend it for fans of his since like me they will want to read anything her writes. If you are new to Patterson it  probably isn’t the best place to start. Let me know what you think about it. Enjoy!