Brent Jeffs is the nephew of Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned leaderof the FLDS. The son of a prominent family in the church, Brentcould have grown up to have multiple wives of his own andsignificant power in the 10,000-strong community. But he knew thatbehind the group’s pious public image—women in chaste dressescarrying babies on their hips—lay a much darker reality. So hewalked away, and was the first to file a sexual-abuse lawsuitagainst his uncle. Now Brent shares his courageous story and thatof many other young men who have become “lost boys” when they leavethe FLDS, either by choice or by expulsion.
In the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (FLDS), girls can become valuable property as
plural wives, but boys are expendable, even a liability. In this
powerful and heartbreaking account, former FLDS member Brent Jeffs
reveals?0?2both the terror and the love he experienced growing up
on his prophet’s compound—and the harsh exile existence that so
many boys?0?2face once they have been expelled by the sect.
Brent Jeffs is the nephew of Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned leader
of the FLDS. The son of a prominent family in the church, Brent
could have grown up to have multiple wives of his own and
significant power in the 10,000-strong community. But he knew that
behind the group’s pious public image—women in chaste dresses
carrying babies on their hips—lay a much darker reality. So he
walked away, and was the first to file a sexual-abuse lawsuit
against his uncle. Now Brent shares his courageous story and that
of many other young men who have become “lost boys” when they leave
the FLDS, either by choice or by expulsion.
Brent experienced firsthand the absolute power that church
leaders wield—the kind of power that corrupts and perverts those
who will do anything to maintain it. Once young men no longer
belong to the church, they are cast out into a world for which they
are utterly unprepared. More often than not, they succumb to the
temptations of alcohol and other drugs.
Tragically, Brent lost two of his brothers in this struggle, one
to suicide, the other to overdose. In this book he shows that lost
boys can triumph and that abuse and trauma can be overcome, and he
hopes that readers will be inspired to help former FLDS members
find their way in the world.