Leaving The Saints: One child's story of survival and hope

(Paperback)

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LEAVING THE SAINTS is an unforgettable memoir about one woman's lifetime struggle to overcome a dark secret buried in her childhood.

Growing up within the narrow confines of the Mormon Church, bestselling author Martha Beck was raised in a home frequented by the Church's high elders. After Adam, her second child, was born with Down's syndrome, she and her husband left their graduate programmes at Harvard to return to Martha's hometown of Provo, Utah, where they knew the supportive Mormon community would embrace them. But after Martha began teaching at Brigham Young University, she began to recall horrific memories of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of one of the Church's most respected leaders. This book chronicles her difficult decision to sever her relationship with the faith that had raised her, and to confront and forgive the person who betrayed her so deeply.

Reviews

One of the bravest, most achingly honest books I've read in years.' Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., author of The Dance of Anger. 'Leaving the Saints is a brave book. Martha Beck shares her journey out of religion and into faith and healing with heartbreaking candor, softened by wit and uplifted by a deep spiritual longing.' Sharon Salzberg, author of Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience

Author Bio

Life coach Martha Beck writes a monthly column, 'Beck on Call,' for O: The Oprah Magazine, and appears regularly on The Oprah Winfrey Show.