Becoming Sister Wives by The Brown Family

Book:  Becoming Sister Wives 

Author:  Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown

Grade:  A solid B -/C+ 

Recommended To:  Fans of the show, polygamists. 

This is one of those books that I just felt compelled to read.  The Browns might say that I received a "testimony", and that I was "called" to read this book.  Ha!  Actually, I just watch the show on Sunday nights and wanted to see if they included any dirt that wasn't on the show in the book.

This book actually had a lot of detail that I was surprised to read.  These polygamists are refreshingly honest about their lives and relationships.  Kody, Meri, Janelle and Christine all tell the story of how they met Kody and how they all struggled with becoming a plural family when they initially got married.  I really liked how each wife told her own story of how she met Kody and how she became a part of the family.  Those are details that you never hear about on the show.

Robyn also tells her portion, which also includes some details not seen on TV, for example, the show makes it look like she met Kody while they were filming and that perhaps Robyn was even drawn to the Browns because she had seen them on TV.  Apparently this was not the case, and Robyn met Meri and Kody before the show was taped and then had to extend her own engagement to Kody in order to not be the focus of the first episode of the show.

If I have one complaint, it is that Kody comes off as somewhat preachy.  He's a twat on the show, so I expected some of this.  I buy that he had a calling to have a plural marriage (because seriously who would put up with all of these people, if not for a calling).  But, I don't buy that he had a calling to come out to the world on TV - I think TLC waived some flashy bucks and maybe a new sports car in his direction which enhanced his "calling" about going public.

Also, all of the wives frequently write about how great of a father Kody is and how they were all drawn to a plural marriage with Kody because of his attitude toward children.  They must all have missed the episode where Kody's daughter falls off a horse and on camera, after the incident, Kody says "My first priority is to get that horse calmed down, and make sure the horse is okay."  Yes, Wives.  That sounds just like a father-of-the-year award winner.

Either way, this book was worth it.  I liked reading about their lives before television and how they overcame  their differences.  I also liked that unlike Farrah Abraham's book, it was reasonably well written and clearly edited.

Happy Reading and Happy Happy New Year!