Come get your Insanity here! - Cult Insanity that is!

Thank you, Hachette, for allowing me to give away 5 copies of CULT INSANITY: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement by Irene Spencer.

Life for Irene Spencer was a series of devastating disappointments and hardships. Irene's first book, Shattered Dreams, is the staggering chronicle of her struggle to provide for her children in abject poverty and feelings of abandonment each time her husband left to be with one of his other wives. Irene was raised to believe polygamy was the way of life necessary for her ticket to heaven.

The hard knocks of her environment were just the beginning of Irene's shocking tale. Insanity ran rampant in her husband's family and was the source of inconceivable events that unfolded throughout Irene's adult life. CULT INSANITY takes readers deeper into her story to uncover the outrageous behavior of her brother-in-law Ervil -- a self-proclaimed prophet who determined he was called to set the house of God in order -- and how he terrorized their colony. Claiming to be God's avenger and to have a license to kill in the name of God, Ervil ordered the murders of friends and family members, eliminating all those who challenged his authority.

For those who were gripped by Shattered Dreams, the rest of the story will blow them away. CULT INSANITY is a riveting, terrifying memoir of polygamist life under the tyranny of a madman. (hachettebookgroup.com)

Here are the Insane Rules:

1. Five copies to giveaway.
   
2. Open only to U.S. and Canada.
   
3. No PO Boxes
4. All entries can be in one comment.
5. +1 Must leave email address in comment.
6. +2 if you are a new or old follower - but please let me know.
7. +3 if you post this on any social network - No Limit - Go Insane! Spread the word! How many entries can you get! I'll give 5 more entries to the person who at the end of the contest has the most entries! If you post on Twitter - please use @kherbrand.
   
8. +3 for referrals of NEW followers - if you already follow, you will not get entries for saying someone referred you - you can however get entries for referring new people...
9. If you can think of an original way to get entries - put it in a comment and I will consider it - who knows - you might come up with even more entries!
10. Giveaway ends on Sept 17.
    

ARC Arrival: Cult Insanity by Irene Spencer

Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement by Irene Spencer

Publisher: Center Street

About the book: In Shattered Dreams, Irene Spencer told the devastating story of her arduous life in a polygamous fundamentalist Mormon sect, sharing her husband with nine other women (and fifty-six children) in abject poverty and intense mental and emotional anguish. As harrowing as the story was, it was only just the beginning.

Cult Insanity delves deeper into her story, focusing on the terrifying acts of Ervil LeBaron, her brother-in-law and a self-proclaimed prophet who determined he had been called to set the house of God in order.

The older brother of Irene's husband, Verlan, Ervil LeBaron had a zeal for living and teaching that was at first admired but soon took on a sinister tone. Ervil's ambitions quickly turned lethal when he uncovered a doctrine concerning blood atonement--the act of redeeming a sinner's soul by taking his or her life. Seeing himself as God's avenger, he used the role as a means to terrorize and destroy those who challenged him.

Irene quickly became enveloped in a dark cloud of fear and anguish. Survival for herself and her ever-growing family turned into a constant flight from one desert camp to another across the harsh badlands of Baja, California. Food was scarce and living conditions abhorrent. Irene didn't see her husband for months, never knowing if Ervil would make good on his vow to kill him. (book jacket)

About the author: Irene Spencer resides in Northern California with her husband of twenty-one years, Hector J. Spencer. During the twenty-eight years of her first marriage to a polygamous husband, Irene gave birth to thirteen children (all single births). She additionally adopted a newborn girl, who became her ninth child.

Irene has 123 grandchildren and 60 great-grandchildren. Among her many talents, she is an accomplished seamstress, is a great cook, and is fluent in Spanish, and she has traveled to twenty-three countries and twenty-three states speaking on polygamy and related issues. (book jacket)

Cult Insanity
Publisher/Publication Date: Center Street, August 12, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-53819-0
352 pages