The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner is a memoir that dives into the harrowing experiences of the author growing up in a polygamist community in Mexico. Through clear-eyed prose and unwavering courage, Wariner recounts the hardships and abuse faced by her family, showcasing her survival and ability to thrive despite the adversities. The book offers a detailed and vivid account of Ruth's challenging childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, highlighting themes of resilience, courage, and the human spirit.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is marked by simplicity and eloquence, with a straightforward approach that conveys emotion, though it sometimes suffers from excessive detail.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot features a stark depiction of childhood within a polygamist community, focusing on struggles with poverty and abuse while ultimately showcasing the author's path to escape.

Setting:

The setting is a rural polygamist community in Mexico, characterized by extreme poverty and neglect, juxtaposed with occasional glimpses of joy.

Pacing:

Pacing varies, with gripping moments tempered by occasional lags and a sudden conclusion that may leave readers dissatisfied.

I am my mother’s fourth child and my father’s thirty-ninth. I grew up in Colonia LeBaron, a small town in the Mexican countryside 200 miles south of El Paso, Texas. The colony, as we called it, was fo...

Genres:

memoir

nonfiction

Topics:

polygamy

childhood trauma

religious fundamentalism

Notes:

Ruth Wariner is the thirty ninth child of her father and the fourth child of her mother.

She grew up in a polygamist community in rural Mexico, specifically in Colonia LeBaron.

Ruth's father, Joel LeBaron, was murdered when she was just a few months old.

Ruth's mother, Kathy, was the fifth wife of colony leader Joel LeBaron and later became another man's third wife.

The family lived in extreme poverty, relying on food stamps and government assistance for survival.

Ruth recounts the horrors she and her siblings experienced, including abuse and neglect.

Despite the dire conditions, the women in her community had more freedom compared to women in other fundamentalist Mormon sects.

The memoir explores themes of strength, resilience, and the complexities of family loyalty within a cult-like environment.

Key events are narrated from Ruth's perspective beginning when she was five years old.

Ruth's eventual escape from her upbringing forms a significant part of her story, but the memoir ends abruptly after her escape without detailing her later life.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

The book contains triggers related to child abuse, sexual assault, neglect, poverty, and domestic violence.

From The Publisher:

An instant New York Times bestseller

"A haunting, harrowing testament to survival." - People Magazine

"An addictive chronicle of a polygamist community." - New York Magazine

"Unforgettable" - Entertainment Weekly

The thirty-ninth of her father's forty-two children, Ruth Wariner grew up in polygamist family on a farm in rural Mexico. In The Sound of Gravel, she offers an unforgettable portrait of the violence that threatened her community, her family's fierce sense of loyalty, and her own unshakeable belief in the possibility of a better life. An intimate, gripping tale of triumph and courage, The Sound of Gravel is a heart-stopping true story.

Ratings (19)

Incredible (4)
Loved It (8)
Liked It (2)
It Was OK (5)

Reader Stats (68):

Read It (20)
Currently Reading (3)
Want To Read (35)
Not Interested (10)

1 comment(s)

ehanut203

It Was OK

4 months

This is a tough one to rate. Wariner is not a strong prose stylist; as a writer, she has a lot of growing to do. So she has to rely heavily on the plot to keep the reader hooked. Fortunately (or unfortunately actually), the story is riveting and her plain but straightforward prose serves it well enough.

Wariner grew up as one of dozens (maybe hundreds?) of children in a polygamist cult in Mexico. I think she is 39th of her father's 40-something children; that doesn't count the children she is related to through her mother's second marriage after her father's death. Her father was the founder of the cult, and her stepfather, Lane, has several wives in "the colony."

This is a memoir about an extreme polygamist cult, with children being shuttled in and out of school in Mexico and America, where women are instructed to bear as many children as possible to their many-wived husbands. Social services is the devil, America is Babylon, men are destined to be gods in heaven, and I'll let you do the math on what the central tragedy of Ruth's childhood was.

Wariner does a great job speaking as her childhood self; young Ruthie doesn't understand why her mother won't leave her abusive stepfather, but as she gets older she finds compassion for a woman who feels trapped by her circumstances. She is a remarkable woman who overcame her circumstances and made a safe life for herself and her siblings outside of the dangers of zealotry.

I'm glad that Wariner has found a measure of peace and prosperity in adulthood. But let me give you the correct steps to take if you are an adult and you witness any other adult abusing a child:

1. Set everything he owns, including the clothes he is wearing, on fire.

2. There is no step two. You're done.

Wariner is a more compassionate person than I am. She understands and forgives her mother for what I see as unforgivable weakness. It is not my right to call her wrong. I admire her accomplishments.

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About the Author:

RUTH WARINER lives in Portland, Oregon. After Wariner left Colonia LeBaron, the polygamist Mormon colony where she grew up, she moved to California, where she raised her three youngest sisters. After earning her GED, she put herself through college and graduate school, eventually becoming a high school Spanish teacher. She remains close to her siblings and is happily married. The Sound of Gravel is her first book.

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The Sound of Gravel

Ruth Wariner