

Shattered Dreams
My Life as a Polygamist's Wife
Author: Irene Spencer
Narrator: Laural Merlington
Unabridged: 14 hr 7 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: 12/17/2007
Author: Irene Spencer
Narrator: Laural Merlington
Unabridged: 14 hr 7 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: 12/17/2007
Irene Spencer came from four generations of polygamy. As the second of ten wives, she was the mother of fourteen of her husband's fifty-eight children. Irene lives in Anchorage Alaska, with her faithful husband of nineteen years, Hector J. Spencer, who never leaves her side. At eighty-four years of age, Hector travels with Irene, proudly basking in her recent, new-found success. They currently reside in Woodbridge, California with Irene's oldest daughter, where Irene continues to write and work on various projects.
When she's not writing or speaking, Irene is on the road, traveling the globe from Alaska to Mexico, Idaho, California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Louisiana to visit her family. Irene is also a world traveler, having traveled through twenty-five of the fifty U.S. states and to twenty-three foreign countries. She speaks both Spanish and English fluently.
Although she had only a ninth-grade education, Irene earned her GED and took a creative writing class at University of Las Vegas. In fulfilling her passion and calling as an inspirational speaker, Irene shocks, amazes and motivates her audience. Irene interweaves humor throughout her testimony of her former, unconventional lifestyle. Irene serves as a keynote speaker for "rescue missions," church congregations, women's centers, and other groups and events throughout the country as invited. Despite the demands on her time to fulfill her speaking engagements, Irene finds time to continue her writing and spend time with her family. She plans to author additional books.
Fascinating train wreck of a story, but my feminist sensibilities had a hard time allowing the author to lead such a life. She turned down a chance a real love to do what she thought god wanted. Strike one. Followed "signs" to lead her into what she knew would be a life of submission and silence. St......more
I've read quite a few books about the LeBarons, but I've been looking forward to reading Irene's books specifically, even more so since I read Susan's book. Both she and Irene were married to Verlan, so it was interesting seeing both of their perspectives, life wasn't easy for either of them. I said......more
Shattered Dreams is a fascinating look at a way of life totally foreign to most people. Irene Spencer grew up in the branch of the Mormon faith that still believed in polygamy. The second of what was ultimately her husband's ten wives, she became the mother of thirteen of his 58 children. The statis......more
Reading this book left me with at least one clear and resounding thought: "Thank God I wasn't raised in a crazy religious cult." Irene Spencer tells a mesmerizing tale of her upbringing as a fourth generation fundamentalist Mormon, an upbringing that led her into a polygamous marriage at age sixteen......more
It was interesting to read this after reading Carolyn Jessup's Escape. Both memoirs are about the author's polygamous marriage with the "blessing" of FLDS, but they center on different aspects of it; whereas Escape spoke not only of the authors abusive marriage but also getting out of it and getting......more