About the Author

Irene Spencer currently lives in Anchorage Alaska, with her husband Hector Spencer. During the 28 years of her first marriage to a polygamous husband, Irene gave birth to 13 children (all single births). She also adopted a newborn daughter, who became her ninth child. Irene has 121 grandchildren. She has 49 great-grandchildren. Among her many talents, she is an accomplished seamstress who sews for family and friends, she's a great cook and bakes pastries and homemade bread, she speaks Spanish and English fluently and has traveled to 23 foreign countries and 23 states.

Reviews

[Irene's] story will be emotional and shocking, but many readers will resonate with the universal question the memoir raises: how to reconcile inherited religious beliefs when they grate against social norms and the deepest desires of the heart.--Publishers Weekly

Spencer writes grippingly . . . in this brave and honest book, [and] lays bare the secrets of her heart and of a devastating religious practice--People Magazine (4-star review)

[Irene's] story will be emotional and shocking, but many readers will resonate with the universal question the memoir raises: how to reconcile inherited religious beliefs when they grate against social norms and the deepest desires of the heart.--Publishers Weekly
Spencer writes grippingly . . . in this brave and honest book, [and] lays bare the secrets of her heart and of a devastating religious practice--People Magazine (4-star review)