—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review (read review)
“Heartbreaking, haunting, yet ultimately uplifting.”
—People.com
“An addictive chronicle of a polygamist community”
—New York Magazine
“Haunting…With power and insight, Wariner’s tale shows a road to escape from the most confining circumstances.”
—Booklist
“Engrossingly readable from start to finish, the book not only offers a riveting portrayal of life in a polygamist community. It also celebrates the powerful bond between siblings determined to not only survive their circumstances, but also thrive in spite of them. An unsentimental yet wholly moving memoir.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Compassionate, compelling, and profound, The Sound of Gravel is a riveting portrayal of what it’s really like to grow up in a polygamist community. Ruth Wariner’s unembellished and plainspoken truths, her enduring love for her mother and siblings, and her dramatic escape make this an engrossing, moving memoir.”
—Claire Bidwell Smith, author of The Rules of Inheritance and After This
“I can’t remember a book that’s had a greater impact on me. Beautifully written, Ruth Wariner’s powerful, raw memoir will touch your heart like nothing you’ve read before. Wariner takes us places—emotional and physical—few will ever experience, or even fathom. Ultimately this book is a testament to the human spirit, a tale of hope. Its stories of tragedy, abuse, trust, and dreams betrayed are more than offset by Wariner’s pure goodness: her courage, determination, wits, resilience, and ultimately, in her quest to save her beloved siblings, triumph. Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven is a very good book. Ruth Wariner’s The Sound of Gravel is a great book, one that will haunt and inspire you for the rest of your life. In her exquisite and powerful telling, Wariner takes us to the darkest recesses of extreme polygamist Mormonism—on a painfully real and personal level—and brings us back to the light.”
—April Christofferson, author of Trapped
“The Sound of Gravel will haunt you, and Ruth Wariner will inspire with her direct, unsentimental prose. I lost sleep reading this memoir and felt nothing but awe and respect. That Ruth survived to tell this story simply boggles my mind.”
—Jennifer Lauck, New York Times bestselling author of Blackbird, Still Waters, Show Me The Way, and Found
“This is an important, and ultimately triumphant, story.”
—Julia Scheeres, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus Land and A Thousand Lives
“What chance does a girl have in a world where men believe that they (and they alone) are destined to be gods? This is the question Ruth Wariner bravely asks as she brings us into the hardscrabble Mormon polygamous communities of remote northern Mexico. Like a Dorothy Allison of the American West, Wariner shows us the humanity and tenacity in the people she comes from while making no apology for wanting something better for herself. Wariner has given us an unforgettable portrait of an enduring and deeply misunderstood segment of American society and a deeply moving account of her own determined pathway out.”
— Joanna Brooks, author of The Book of Mormon Girl: A Memoir of an American Faith
“A beautifully narrated story that manages to be both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Told with generosity and without self-pity, I turned each page with admiration of Ruth’s resilience and strength of spirit. Powerless as she watches her misguided mother endure a life of servility to her stepfather, Ruth’s love for her siblings and determination to break destructive family patterns will fill your heart with hope and triumph.”
—Cea Sunrise Person, author of North of Normal
“The Sound of Gravel takes us into the complex relationships of families with intransigent beliefs, religious convictions so dogmatic that harrowing consequences are forced upon their children. Ruth Wariner, this child of an isolated polygamist community, not only survives the oppression, but writes this unaffected tale of compassion and haunting sadness.”
—Sonya Lea, author of Wondering Who You Are: A Memoir
The Sound of Gravel is available now
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Good Housekeeping
People (Book of the Week)
People.com feature: “Heartbreaking, haunting, yet ultimately uplifting.”
Entertainment Weekly Review & Feature
KATU-TV “AM Northwest” Interview
Oregon Public Radio Interview
Powell’s Book Blog – Essay
GoodReads: Best Books of January 2016
Costco Connection
New York Magazine: “An addictive chronicle of a polygamist community”
Booklist: “Haunting…With power and insight, Wariner’s tale shows a road to escape from the most confining circumstances.”
Salon.com feature with Anna LeBaron
Daily Mail feature
Portland Monthly Review & Feature
The Portland Mercury Review & Feature
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
Shelf Awareness Review & Feature