It was a life that she still has trouble getting away from and a story that is truly compelling to hear and read. On Friday, local audiences can meet the courageous woman who wrote Property, a book that raises many questions about the reach of the law.
Carol Christie spent 40 years as an unwilling member of a polygamous sect. Although she engineered a secretive and successful escaping what she calls a Mormon cult, it is still evident that the scars of many years of control and abuse are still with her.
“I was forced in by my mother. My life’s journey certainly was not normal,” she began, the sounds of exasperation and relief still mingling through her voice.
Now 60, she is able to enjoy her freedom and express her opinions, two things that were withheld from her during her years as one of six wives of a man called the Prophet. After the first Prophet died, another took over and her position remained the same.
She was a teenager when she entered the life of confinement in a religious community near her hometown of Owen Sound in Ontario. There was mistreatment of all kinds including the beatings at the hands of the Prophet. She still recalls these events but hesitates to describe them.
“He was a very violent man, verbally abusive and physically abusive. He poured his anger out on the congregation more often than not. It got to the point where his anger turned to rage. I received many, many terrible beatings. I eventually left because I really thought he would kill me, the beatings were that bad.”
She was able to orchestrate her escape with the help of her oldest son who had previously found his own way out. There is no communication with the outside world but the two devised a plan. Sadly, she had to leave another son behind.
At the last minute, he balked at the plan because “of the teachings and the brainwashing. He was too terrified. He thought he would go to hell if he left.”
She has neither seen nor heard from him since.
“I lived a life of control. Everything I thought, did and said was controlled. I was owned. I was somebody’s property. I wasn’t allowed to have an opinion. I did what I was told to do. That was basically my life.”
But that life is behind her now. These days, she says that her mission is to bring attention to the cult and to have the law intervene.
“My prime motivation is to get something done about the seeping scourge of polygamy in Canada and elsewhere. Specifically I want the small religious community to which I belonged shut down and its leader to face legal consequences, and of course, the remaining victims within the church, I want to see them freed, especially my youngest son who is still under the grasp of this cult and its brainwashing tactics. I want him in my life again. I’m going to do everything I can to get him back.”
Property, then, is a cross-country plea for help. She is travelling to Alberta this week, talking to newspaper and TV reporters to promote her story and foster more response from the legal community.
The story itself will undoubtedly both appall readers about what is allowed to happen in this country as well as inspire them with this “triumph of the will” tale of a woman who never gave up hope and who never stopped fighting her oppressor.
Carol Christie (and with her new husband and co-author John Christie) will be appearing in St. Albert this Friday. The book-signing stop takes place from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. at the Bookstore on Perron Street, located at 7 Perron Street.
For more information, call the store at 780-458-3155. To learn more about the book, visit www.dundurn.com.
Details
Property: The True Story of a Polygamous Church Wife<br />By Carol Christie, with John Christie<br />160 pages<br />$19.99<br />Dundurn Press
