Mormon Women

Diana Cannon-Ragsdale was born into a Mormon dynasty. Her father Ted Cannon was a local celebrity in Salt Lake City, and her family’s ancestors were contemporaries of Brigham Young—and they had many dark secrets to keep. In Loose Cannons, Diana traces her rebellious 1970s girlhood—amidst her father’s multiple suicide attempts and remarriage to her mother’s sister. As she and her siblings barreled into adulthoods they weren’t ready for, they tried to rely on each other while reproducing broken relationships of their own.

In the inhospitable lands of the Utah Territory, during the winter of 1888, thirty-seven-year-old Deborah Tyler waits for her husband, Samuel, to return home from his travels as a wheelwright. It is now the depths of winter, Samuel is weeks overdue, and Deborah is getting worried. Deborah lives in Junction, a tiny town of seven Mormon families scattered along the floor of a canyon, and she earns her living by tending orchards and making work gloves. Isolated by the red-rock cliffs that surround the town, she and her neighbors live apart from the outside world.

Meghan Decker is a woman who is attracted to women. She is also married to an amazing man, and together they are each committed to their faith, their covenants, and their testimony of Jesus Christ and his church. Growing up, Meghan could not see how her deep spiritual faith and her attraction to women could coexist. But after decades of shame, denial, and hiding, Meghan came to accept this part of herself. She realized that while she can't decide to change her sexual orientation, she can decide how to respond to the circumstances of her life.

Growing up is hard. During the few short years of adolescence, young women are expected to move out, get an education, and support themselves while building skills like managing money, setting goals, and cooking cheap, nutritious meals. It's a lot of pressure, even for girls who have supportive parents and helpful siblings. With Life Tumbled, Malissa teaches you how to make the most of your one shot. The decisions you make, skills you pick up, and wisdom you gather at this special age set the course for the rest of your life. Make it the best it can be. Let's tumble together!