'It's Not About the Sex' My Ass

De: Joanne Hanks, Steve Cuno

Narrado por: Kimberly Ellington

With wit, humor, and style, Joanne Hanks takes you on a wild ride through the insanity of the Mormon-based polygamist cult that was her life for seven years.

Get ready to laugh. Get ready to be outraged. And get ready to see polygamy as no one has ever revealed it before. Joanne tells their crazy story with humor and honesty. You'll share her angst over sharing her husband. You'll meet her "sister wives", a prophet calling himself a "celestial stud service" who seeks divine guidance on threesomes, and apostles who dress in weird robes to curse the White House. You'll fume at gut-wrenching tales of racism, sexual abuse, fraud, and manipulation. And you'll find out why no one remembers when Jesus destroyed the world on March 26, 2000.

"It's Not About The Sex" My Ass is more than an entertaining listen. It's a cautionary tale about the power of delusional thinking and a hopeful tale of one woman and her family who came to their senses and found the courage to leave.

©2012 Joanne Hanks and Steve Cuno (P)2015 Pitchstone Publishing

Interesting first-hand account

There was no big reveal or anything surprisingly shocking here. But, it was an engaging first-hand account of the inner experiences.

An Entertaining Polygamy Memoir

I’ve read several leaving polygamy stories. This one is not full of horrible shocking details, but it’s a fun short read (or listen) in this case, with a satisfactory conclusion.

Cult or religion?

Great insight into polygamy and the Mormon religion. I like the remarks of the author and her story of coming out of a cult.

Good Supplement to Other Works

This book is a fun jaunt into the world of Jim Harmston's polygamous splinter sect, and it is definitely enjoyable! Knowing the background of the religion and the history and culture of mormonism is definitely useful before you get to this book, so I think it's best as a supplement to other, longer texts that address the history and development of fundamental mormonism, particularly "Secrets and Wives: The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy," by Sanjiv Bhattacharya, and "Under the Banner of Heaven," by Jon Krakauer.

Humorous honesty

Hilarious take on an unconventional story. Fairly short but I feel it was an appropriate length for the story. It's refreshing to see a hard-core Mormon turn atheist for once.

A Beautiful Conversion of Tragedy To Comedy

Would you consider the audio edition of 'It's Not About the Sex' My Ass to be better than the print version?

Didn't read the print. I loved the narrator so I think audible was perfect medium. I kept thinking I was listening to the author.

What was one of the most memorable moments of 'It's Not About the Sex' My Ass?

The underlying story is important. Many of us are potentially vulnerable to "buying into" a false religion; a utopian dream. She followed her heart into polygamy and she followed her heart out. The author presented a serious situation with self-deprecating humor. She is very funny. I hope she writes more books.

Which character – as performed by Kimberly Ellington – was your favorite?

Joanne!

Funny, insightful, well written with a great narrator

This book is particularly insightful for anyone who grew up Mormon, or are surrounded by members of the LDS church. It is both funny and liberating to hear someone be so open about their experiences and downfalls. It serves as a great expose on religion general.

A fun listen, but I wanted more substance

I enjoyed the snarky way the author told her story of joining a polygamist cult. "Can you believe these crazies?" she seemed to say with the benefit of hindsight. I found her voice appealing. However, I wished for more substance. I would have especially liked more insight into why she went along with joining the cult in the first place.

Written with the humor I can appreciate.

I love the way the author approached the subject with humor. Much needed humor for a tough subject. Life is too short to be serious 24 hours a day & this has the right amount of lighthearted wit to keep me interested. Would recommend to anyone for a quick listen. Short, but I truly enjoyed it.

A Serious Tale Told With Honesty, Wit & Humor

Would you listen to 'It's Not About the Sex' My Ass again? Why?

I will certainly listen again because it is just that interesting and entertaining.

What did you like best about this story?

I most appreciated the author's candor about her own acceptance of religious ideas and practices that many listeners and readers will no doubt think are outlandish. Her descriptions of her gradual acceptance of ever more strange doctrines and the gradual lifting of the veil of belief to reveal the absence of truth at the core of the True and Living Church.

Which character – as performed by Kimberly Ellington – was your favorite?

The story is told in the first person from the author's point of view. The tone is conversational and occasionally reminded me of Julia Sweeney's delightful "Letting Go of God". Ms Hanks' story is not a stand-up comedy routine. It is a serious story about real people in the grip of a strange and potentially dangerous ideology.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me sad and then it made me laugh. The greatest benefit I derived from Ms Hanks' story was being reminded that none of us are immune to being bamboozled. As Carl Sagan said "“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” Ms Hanks and her readers are fortunate that she was eventually able to recognize the bamboozle.