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Confessions Of A Latter-day Virgin: A Memoir (2013)

by Nicole Hardy(Favorite Author)

3.95 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1401341861 (ISBN13: 9781401341862)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Hachette Books

review 1: I really enjoyed this book, personally. I'm not normally a fan of memoirs, so I picked it up with some trepidation, but it was totally worth it. Her voice is very evocative and descriptive (I kind of want to try scuba diving now!), and I really sympathized with her experience.Perhaps I had some help with this, as I am also a creative-type who was raised LDS in the PNW region. Unlike Hardy, however, I was married by the time I was 21 and a mother by the time I was 22. I also left the LDS church by the time I was 25 and shortly after began identifying as an atheist. Also, I wasn't a great mormon. I tried, but I really was not good at it. I spent a lot of time repenting. Also, despite my parents wishes, I did not attend BYU (their alma mater and the alma mater of 3 of my 4 si... moreblings). This is not Hardy's experience. She appears to have been a much more devout and faithful mormon than I was. From her account, she did not appear to struggle with a lot of the temptations that attracted teenage-me until she was in her mid-to-late 20's. From a young age, she valued the apparent stability and safety of monogamous, romantic love (a lesson I took longer to learn). When she recounts leaving the LDS church, she doesn't go into depth about doctrinal or historical concerns with their teachings. Instead, she primarily explores how her emotional health and LDS identity conflicted. I suspect this would make it easier for mormons to read -- although there is some salty language in there, so just fyi.What I liked the most about this book is that during about the first 3/4, it really helped me relate to some single women I know in the church and their struggles and heartaches. Then, in the last 1/4, it really highlighted how it feels to be someone who chooses to leave the religion, which I could definitely relate to. I mean, the loving supportive family, the invisible wedge, the ways their supportiveness can come across more like undermining and minimizing my autonomy ... it was incredible. It was as though she melded the experiences of my single TBM (true believing mormon) sisters and my own experience with leaving the church. For the first time, I felt like maybe the unbreachable silence between my LDS sisters and myself could be bridged.
review 2: I felt like I really connected with her story, and there were so many things that I could relate to. I think that more members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints should read this book, so that they have an understanding of what it's like to be an older single in the church. I commend her for putting her story out there, I'm not sure I am that gutsy. (SPOILER!!!) I am quite saddened by her choices she has made in the end, to leave the church, drink, and have sex. But, I felt her emotions so strong that maybe at this time in her life it is the right decision. I was also happy that when she did finally have sex (I KNOW, RIGHT) that it was a good experience for her.This story is not for those "molly Mormon" type, but, I would say read it anyway. Nicole Hardy never once spoke ill of the church, and explained the religion in an "easy to understand" way. My friend Stephanie recommended this book to me, and I am so glad that she did. I hope that I can one day meet Nicole Hardy, and thank her for writing this memoir. (I'm keeping my eye out for any book signing/reading that she is doing. When she does one, I will be there!) less

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