Irene Spencer - Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife

I was browsing through Amazon's bestseller pages when I chanced upon this book. The memoir sounded like it would be a fascinating read so I recommended it to my local library to purchase a copy so that I could borrow it. It was definitely intriguing, but it also left me feeling baffled and in disbelief. It was quite amazing to read about Irene toughing out the life that she had for such a long time, especially when she struggled so much with a polygamous marriage, right from the very beginning, and had to painfully remove herself from her first love. It was hard for me to imagine her choosing Verlan, and then staying with him almost to the very end, despite the incredible challenges and hardship throughout the entire relationship. The world that existed for her is so alien to me, it's quite difficult to fathom how it must have been like. While I felt sometimes that Irene's story was a little disjointed with some details missed, it did provide a glimpse into her life in polygamy. I would have also liked to know more about the development of her relationship with her current husband, Hector, especially when there was a photo in the book of Hector with Verlan. I guess that was a new chapter in her life with a fresh beginning when this book was about letting go of the past. Overall, an interesting read about a hidden part of society that most people will never know about or experience.