This is an honest and heart wrenching memoir of the life of the daughter of a killer. And while it's good (well-written, interesting, genuine) it wasn't what I had in mind. It does not focus on Dan or his crimes. At all. So, don't make the same mistake I did thinking this is a true crime novel--it's not. If you're interested in her story, her life, you'll love it.

The Lafferty Girl is a memoir written by the daughter of Dan Lafferty, an LDS radical and convicted murderer. Rebecca Lafferty recounts her traumatic experiences of abuse at the hands her father and how they affected her relationships in adulthood. She also discusses her journey to find healing.

I was initially drawn to this book after watching the television series “Under the Banner of Heaven.” However, this is not an account of Dan Lafferty’s crimes which may leave some disappointed. Those who have experienced abuse or trauma may find this book hopeful and encouraging.

Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for allowing me to have an advanced reader copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

As someone who's long been fascinated by LDS and FLDS history — especially after reading Under the Banner of Heaven and several other books on the subject — I was drawn to this one for a fresh perspective. I appreciated the author’s insider view and unique voice, and parts of her story were certainly compelling.
That said, I found myself getting frustrated with the sheer number of spiritual practices, mantras, and life frameworks she included. It sometimes felt like a bit too much — distracting from the core narrative and muddying the focus. Still, an interesting read if you're deeply invested in the topic, but it didn’t quite land for me overall.

Honestly, I don't fully know what I expected to read when starting this. Rebecca Lafferty grew up in a small town with an infamous father (and family) and talks about her experiences with life, family, religion, and spirituality. It cannot be easy to discuss the things she grew up experiencing, but there was just a part of me that did not expect to read the psychological and spiritual terminology and references that Lafferty mentions throughout the book.

It reads, for the most part, fairly well, but it is a bit...slow. This is not a familial account of a crime. Her father's actions are discussed through the eyes of Lafferty as a child and through the letters/conversations she had with her father while writing this book, but if you're reading this to see some sort of continuation of "Under the Banner of Heaven", you won't find it here. What you will find is a book about a troubled young woman who tries her hardest to deal with the hand she's been dealt to some degrees of success.

As someone who grew up in an environment of dysfunctional and abusive religion, there's no denying that I'm drawn to survivor tales like that of Rebecca Lafferty, the co-author and central subject in "The Lafferty Girl: Surviving Trauma, Abuse, and My Father's Crimes."

Lafferty is the daughter of Dan Lafferty, an abusive and narcissistic soul disguised as a prophet who was convicted, alongside brother Ron, of the 1984 murder of brother Allan's wife and 15-month old daughter, Erica, in what was called a divine revelation (HINT: It wasn't.).

While Dan Lafferty's case is dramatic enough, it was captured vividly by Ken Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven" and in 2022 became a miniseries on FX on Hulu. "The Lafferty Girl" focuses, other than one chapter, on Rebecca Lafferty herself and her journey of surviving the trauma of growing up with Dan Lafferty as a father. Undeniably abusive as a father and husband pretty much from the get-go, at least that's my perception, Lafferty captures here what it was like to grow up in that home, survive that home, and then have to grow up dealing with the aftermath of having her father arrested for such a horrendous crime even as she spent many years in some degree of denial about the degree of his involvement.

As I began my journey with "The Lafferty Girl," I became rather enchanted by what comes off as an almost wide-eyed innocence about the world by Lafferty. As Lafferty grew into adulthood, it becomes clear she was ill-equipped, a direct result of her extensive trauma, to function in adult relationships, responsibilities, and even within her own family. What "The Lafferty Girl" captures vividly is how trauma influenced her worldview and how that worldview then came to help manifest less than healthy relationships and her own lack of self-love and acceptance.

Over time, this worldview began to change and heal as Lafferty began to experience, well, the world itself. Relationships that perpetuated the trauma gave way to healthier relationships and, perhaps more importantly, self-love and self-determination. Healing, often found through more alternative methods frowned up by her frequently Mormon partners, came when Lafferty stopped listening to everyone else and began listening to spirit and her own wisdom that she would increasingly learn to trust.

While I resonated deeply with Lafferty's story, I will confess to have grown weary of Lafferty's storytelling. At times, it seemed as if "The Lafferty Girl" could have been renamed "My Dysfunctional Relationship History" as much of the book centers around Lafferty's relationship history and how patterns of dating men with her father's traits seemed to repeat themselves. There's a repetition here that grows tiresome as relationships beared similar rhythms of dysfunction. While it's understandable that someone surviving trauma and abusive would lean into unhealthy relationship patterns (I sure have), one challenge as a writer is to find ways to manifest varying literary rhythms to avoid redundancy and to keep readers energized.

Honestly? I got a bit bored with "The Lafferty Girl" and this isn't the type of story that should ever get boring.

We're at a full 80% of "The Lafferty Girl" before we begin to get a real sense that Lafferty has truly entered a healing journey. While there are hints of healing and peace prior, we're nearing the end of "The Lafferty Girl" before we see Lafferty really embrace self-love and forgiveness.

It's difficult to rate a book such as "The Lafferty Girl," at times a truly riveting memoir and always a deeply meaningful one. While I had my issues with the way "The Lafferty Girl" is written, including the use of back-and-forth memory sequences that felt gimmicky and lessened the emotional impact for me, "The Lafferty Girl" is even within those concerns a powerful story of survival and healing that will resonate with trauma survivors, abusive survivors, and survivors of domestic violence. While graphic imagery is primarily limited to one particular chapter, "The Lafferty Girl" is vivid in capturing the before, during, and after life of those who experience trauma and are left to construct the pieces of life once the cycle begins to be broken.

Destined to be an encouragement to survivors of abuse and trauma, "The Lafferty Girl" is a powerful reminder that even through our darkest experiences we have the ability and power to chart our own path to healing and a better life.

This book is a very honest memoir on many challenging topics. The author also provides a comprehensive story while acknowledging the limits of her knowledge/experience and respecting the boundaries of her family members. This is not a salacious/true crime type book but a very honest look about the impact of the myriad of choices on an individual’s life.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book shares the deeply personal and brave account of a healing journey from the abuse in childhood and wrong choices in adulthood that were shaped by these experiences. I appreciated the truth and the detail in the healing journey - in using, I would say, not typical ways to heal. I thought that was really interesting. Despite the connection to Dan Lafferty's crime, this is not a book about that and anyone who is interested truly in that will be disappointed. This book is Rebecca Lafferty's story first and foremost.

In moments I felt like some things were repeated throughout the book, which sometimes made it feel like it dragged on. Well written but sometimes felt slightly over-written. However, I thought the epilogue was something that was a really good ending to the book - hopeful and thankful. It made me leave this book with not such a heavy heart, which I think was exactly what the authors wanted to potray, even after all the suffering potrayed before.

This was quite a story written by the daughter of a murderous extremist religion killer, Dan Lafferty. He was the subject of Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven, and at least one show on a true crime channel. It talks about what happened, but is mostly about her story growing up with him, and how it affected her and her relationship with her family. The author shares a lot of insight on her life and relationships.