Secret Ceremonies

by Deborah Laake

Overview

A frank yet compassionate depiction of the culture of the Mormon Church, this compelling rite-of-passage story describes the mystery of the church's rituals and the beauty and rigor of its theology and traditions set against the backdrop of one woman's life. Laake is executive managing editor of the New Times, Inc., chain of magazines and was named Arizona Journalist of the Year in 1988.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780688093044
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/01/1993
Edition description:	1st ed
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

Editorial Reviews

Laake, raised as a strict Mormon, was taught from childhood that Mormon men were ``priesthood holders'' anointed with the authority to act for God on earth, and that her entrance into heaven could be assured only if she married a Mormon man who would be her master. As a 19-year-old sophomore at Brigham Young University, she became a Mormon wife. Laake's heartfelt record of this disastrous first marriage and the years of struggle that followed is at once autobiography and an expose of the repressive patriarchalism of the Mormon church. After her divorce, for example, Laake found that although her ex-husband retained his religious privileges, she was banned from the temple and condemned by Mormon elders. Torn between her loyalty to herself and to her church's teachings, she plunged into a second Mormon marriage; it, too, failed, and led to a mental breakdown. Laake, now executive managing editor of the New Times magazine chain, writes that she has emerged from her experiences as an independent woman, no longer in thrall to religious dogma. This is a haunting and candid memoir. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Silly account of life in the LDS Church and with a couple of rigid Mormon men. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews