Breaking Free

Archival Summary & Scope

Rachel Jeffs, the daughter of self-proclaimed prophet Warren Jeffs, provides a searing exposé of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). Raised in a radical splinter sect defined by strict patriarchy and subordinate sister wives, Rachel details the "iron grip" her father maintained over the community, even while orchestrating underage marriages and dodging the FBI.

The memoir chronicles the years of physical and emotional abuse Rachel endured, including being forced into an arranged polygamous marriage and confined to "houses of hiding." Breaking Free serves as both a personal account of her 2015 escape and a broader examination of religious extremism, illuminating the lives of those still trapped in a culture of state-defying isolation and restrictive edicts.