Forsaking All Others (Sister Wife)

Allison Pittman
Tyndale House Publishers (2011)
ISBN 9781414335971
Reviewed by Tiffany Schlarman for Reader Views (8/11)


“I do not take the luxury of a retrospective examination.  I never stop to ask myself if I should have done anything differently.  After all, how can you look at the assembled pages of your life and decide which should be ripped out and which should remain to press the treasures of your memories?  Seems to me the greatest joy comes out of the pain that nurtures it, and you cannot keep one without the other.  So I am forced, here at the end of it all, to fold every leaf together and say, that I did the best I knew how.  I lived according to my conscience. ..”

When I last read of Camilla Fox, she had just escaped her home and the Mormon faith she doesn’t believe.  Caught up in a deadly snow storm, Camilla was left in the snow and the reader was left to wonder if she would survive.  By God’s grace, the United States Army found Camilla and held her in their care, awaiting her survival or death.  “Forsaking All Others” picks up right where its predecessor leaves off.  Camilla wakes up to find herself in an Army camp, barely able to speak or move.  As Camilla grows stronger, she realized God’s plan for her safety and follows his lead, with the sole purpose of rescuing her daughters from the Mormon faith.  The journey is long.  Camilla’s faith and resolve are tested.  Trials and loss are inevitable but the reward is sweet.  Within the pages of Camilla’s story lies a hope and peace that passes all understanding.

Allison Pittman amazed me with this novel.  I absolutely loved it!  I loved it even more than the first book in this series.  From the moment I opened “Forsaking All Others,” I was hooked.  Camilla’s story captured me.  Pittman’s writing is clear and vivid, enabling me to picture the setting perfectly.  I felt as if I were right there, with Camilla, throughout the story.  Unlike the first novel which enraged me at times this novel kept me glued to its pages.  I didn’t have to step away from the book, but instead felt myself drawn to it.  Though the issues that enraged me at first have not changed, the situation, the understanding and the outlook have.  It’s as if I read this novel with new eyes, enabling me to see another side of the story past my first opinions and struggles.  This time around I was enlightened and aware of a different side of the characters.  I would not have been able to have this outlook if not for the first novel.

Camilla’s story, faith, struggles and triumphs kept me emotionally attached to this novel.  I couldn’t wait to read more and discover where she would end up, how or if she would get her daughters back and what would change within her life, making her whole and new.  Each character is strong, well developed, intriguing and purposeful.  Aside from a few printing errors due to its galley format, the novel was perfect.  I fully enjoyed “Forsaking All Others.”  I can’t wait to read more from Ms. Pittman.

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