Pt 39: Ma, Pa, Me, And Polygamy on Parade My Mother: beautiful brainiac, talented, Esther LeBaron-McDonald Spencer "What the mother sings to the cradle goes all the way to the coffin."Henry Ward Beecher Our habits of perfectionism are deeply harmful: Perfectionism distracts us and keeps us from moving forward, out of a fear of messing up…
Part 42-A–E: Megalomania and Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind
Pt 42-A:Megalomania and theMaking of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind Handsome Mexico-LeBarons Ervil, Joel, Verlan, Alma, and Floren Somehow we learn who we really areand then live with that decision."Eleanor Roosevelt I've long been on a quest to understand the making of the Mexico-LeBaron mind---its need to be number one, the best, in control of everyone---and always…
Part 42-D: Megalomania and the Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind
Part 42-D:Megalomania and the Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind Circa 1964: My mother Esther LeBaron Spencer Leaving a cult is a lot likedriving at night with your headlights on:You may only see a few feet in front of you,but you can make the whole journey that way.Stephany Spencer-LeBaron(Takeoff from E. L. Doctorow): "Writing a novel…
Pt 42-C: Megalomania and the Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind
Pt 42-C: Megalomania, and the Making of the Mexico-LeBaron Mind Circa 1942: My mother Esther LeBaron McDonald de Spencer "Whatever we call the form–autobiography, memoir, personal history, family history–writing about one's life is a powerful human need.Writers are the custodians of memory, and memories have a way of dying with their owner.If it's a family…
Pt 41-A: Esther LeBaron Spencer and “More on” LeBaron Madness
Pt 41-A: Esther LeBaron Spencer and "More on" LeBaron Madness My mother Esther LeBaron-McDonald Spencer "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."Ralph Waldo Emerson In "Parts 39--40-B: Esther LeBaron Spencer;Ma, Pa, Me, and Pitfalls of Polygamy," I discussed issues of perfectionism in my grandparents Maud and…
Pt 40-D: Esther LeBaron Spencer: Ma, Pa, Me, and Pitfalls of Polygamy
Pt 40-D: Esther LeBaron Spencer: Ma, Pa, Me, and Pitfalls of Polygamy Circa 1956: My parents and 9 of their ultimately 14 kids; shortly after leaving Short Creek, Arizona to live in nearby Hurricane, Utah Writers do not live one life, they live two. There is the living and then there is the writing. Anaïs…
STEPHANY SPENCER: 