The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir

Ruth Wariner

Jan 2016 · Sold by Flatiron Books

About this ebook

A New York Times bestseller, The Sound of Gravel is the remarkable true story of one girl's coming-of-age in a polygamist Mormon Doomsday cult.

“A haunting, harrowing testament to survival." — People Magazine
“An addictive chronicle of a polygamist community.” — New York Magazine

Ruth Wariner was the thirty-ninth of her father’s forty-two children. Growing up on a farm in rural Mexico, where authorities turned a blind eye to the practices of her community, Ruth lives in a ramshackle house without indoor plumbing or electricity. At church, preachers teach that God will punish the wicked by destroying the world and that women can only ascend to Heaven by entering into polygamous marriages and giving birth to as many children as possible. After Ruth's father--the man who had been the founding prophet of the colony--is brutally murdered by his brother in a bid for church power, her mother remarries, becoming the second wife of another faithful congregant.

In need of government assistance and supplemental income, Ruth and her siblings are carted back and forth between Mexico and the United States, where her mother collects welfare and her step-father works a variety of odd jobs. Ruth comes to love the time she spends in the States, realizing that perhaps the community into which she was born is not the right one for her. As Ruth begins to doubt her family’s beliefs and question her mother’s choices, she struggles to balance her fierce love for her siblings with her determination to forge a better life for herself.

Recounted from the innocent and hopeful perspective of a child, The Sound of Gravel is the remarkable true story of a girl fighting for peace and love. This is an intimate, gripping book resonant with triumph, courage, and resilience.

Ratings and reviews

A memoir about growing up in the FLDS just across the Mexican boarder. There is, as to be expected, the many children born into the family, paranoia about the US government, and sexual abuse. What was not expected was the emotional depth and variety this woman had at such a young age. It follows her from seven to 15 and includes an emotional rollercoaster that keeps the reader intrigued. I didn't want to stop reading it, especially the last heartbreaking 40 pages.

I just finished this book after staying up all night (roughly 9 hours) to read it from start to finish. I laughed, I cried, and I felt so many things on this emotional journey of a read. I highly recommend this book to everyone no matter your genre preference. I never thought I'd ever pick up a book like this, being an avid science fiction and fantasy reader my whole life, but I'm glad I did. I'm glad I followed that little inkling that whispered, "read it." when the title caught my attention. I was so quickly drawn in that I was incapable of tearing my eyes away until there was nothing left to read. Thank you Ruth for sharing your story. I'm glad it was, and continues to be, a happy ending.

We are able minded and can achieve what we feel in our heart is right. This sheds light on what you take for granted on different scales. How a young woman is so perceptive on how to treat her mother that was fragile and stay in tact after all she had been through and still have the love and respect as a daughter.

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.