​Blog 584 – 03-27-2017

The Polygamist’s Daughter

I have been anxiously awaiting the release of a new book for some time, The Polygamist’s Daughter, the memoir of Anna LeBaron, daughter of polygamist cult leader Ervil LeBaron. Last week the Kindle version came out and I read it quickly. I could hardly put it down. Anna is my new hero. Though I knew part of her story first hand I had no idea till I read in her own words how horrendous her early life was and the tremendous personal courage it took for her to walk away from all of that she knew to start a new life. Her story will move your heart and restore your faith in the desire of the human spirit to be free.

Many of us have had trials and troubles as children but few of us have known what Anna knew or have suffered the kind of terrible losses she has but out of all that she became a brave and bold woman with a strong desire to share her story in order to help other. And she has.  Everyone who takes the time to read this story will be better for it. Her story deserves the biggest platform and I hope it receives it.

I love to write tributes on my daily blog and today’s tribute it to Anna LeBaron. One of the pictures she shares in the book is of her as a young girl wearing a tee shirt that says, “Daddy’s Girl.” She comments on the picture that she guesses that is what she always wanted to be but was denied by her cult leader father. I am glad and grateful that Anna has found the perfect father. In the recently released movie, The Shack  the perfect father goes by the name of Papa and is fond of saying that He/She is especially fond of this one or that one. When asked if there is anyone that She/He is not especially fond of the simple answer is, “Nope.”

There is, I believe, a little child in all of us that craves a caring parent’s love and protection. Most of us even the best parents fail to fill the bill in one way or another. Some few fail so badly they do not deserve to be called parents at all. But like Anna I believe we all have a heavenly Father/Mother that loves us more than we know and that guides us, guards us, and protects us each step of our journey home.

I hope many of you will seek out The Polygamist’s Daughter and read Anna’s story. I hope it is so successful that they make it into a movie where it will receive an even wider audience. My hat is off to a brave and bold new writer who has found her voice. I think we are all going to be hearing a lot more from her. Bravo, bravo, Anna mi Hermosa Bonita. (Cheers, cheers, Anna, my beautiful sister.)

Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White