Book Review – The Sound of Gravel

To say that Ruth Wariner has a unique story to share is an overwhelming understatement. On Tuesday, January 5^th Flatiron Books will release The Sound Of Gravel: A Memoir by Ruth Wariner. I highly recommend snagging a copy here.

My husband and I lived in Phoenix for 7 years. When my we moved down there, a friend had shared an observation that we would notice a Mormon church situated in close proximity to just about every school in the East Valley. They were right. I didn’t know much about Mormonism when we moved there- just that there were specific beliefs they adhered to that did not exactly match up with Christianity. The Mormon church that I encountered was not the Fundamentalist Mormonism that Ruth Wariner grew up with. Far from it.

If you didn’t know that this was a memoir reliving Ruth’s incredible and devastating childhood, you might think this is a piece of fiction. You might even wish that it was fiction as Ruth recounts growing up in a polygamist colony, founded by her father, Joel LeBaron, who was a Mormon prophet. Her father, murdered by his brother, Ervil LeBaron when she was 3 months old, left behind several wives and countless children. When her mother married Lane, she unwittingly brought her family and future children into the presence of a pedophile.

Ruth tells her story, growing up in Colonia LeBaron, Chihuahua, Mexico, sharing insights into the polygamist compound, painting a picture of despair from the rundown shack she grew up in with her mom and siblings to the long stretches of being left alone with her siblings to fend for themselves.

To use some of the more cliche descriptors, Ruth’s story is gripping, riveting, mind-boggling, etc. Her writing takes you to her childhood, where you can feel the hot sun on your face, dusty from the dirt and gravel roads. I could practically feel the hunger she and her brothers and sisters experienced, subsisting on beans and bread alone. I felt my anger bubble up in moments when her safety and innocence were in jeopardy or violated. Her descriptive writing pulls you into her world, and it is absolutely devastating. The hope and faith Ruth displays throughout her life speaks to her absolute strength. I envisioned her journey from this life to her freedom as a long crawl out of the desolate wasteland into the promised land, free from Lane and all that came with him.

The glimpse into this world and the desperation to escape it makes this book worth the anguish and heartache you will surely feel as you devour Ruth’s words.