Review: "Becoming Sister Wives" by the Browns

From Goodreads:  In many ways, the Browns are like any other middle-American family. They eat, play, and pray together, squabble and hug, striving to raise happy, well-adjusted children while keeping their relationship loving and strong. The difference is, there are five adults in the openly polygamous Brown marriage—Kody and his four wives—who among them have seventeen children. Since TLC first launched its popular reality program Sister Wives, the Browns have become one of the most famous families in the country. Now Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn reveal in their own words exactly how their special relationship works—the love and faith that drew them together, the plusses and pitfalls of having sister wives, and the practical and emotional complications of a lifestyle viewed by many with distrust, prejudice, even fear. With the candor and frankness that have drawn millions to their show, they talk about what makes their fascinating family work, addressing the topics that intrigue outsiders: How do the four relationships differ? What effect does a polygamous upbringing have on their children? What are the challenges—emotional, social, or financial—involved in living this lifestyle? Is it possible for all four sister wives to feel special when sharing a husband—and what happens when jealousy arises? How has being on camera changed their lives? And what’s it like to add a new wife to the family—or to be that new wife?

My Thoughts:  I am completely addicted to the show Sister Wives and completely torture the hubs with it so when I saw they had a book out, I knew I had to read it.  I must say that I really enjoyed it and there is a lot more information in the book about the family than you see on television.

The book is broken up into big sections and in each section, you get to read each of the four wives' perspective on that aspect of their family.  I think this provides a unique look at the family dynamic as each wife explains things, events, etc. in quite a different way than their other sister wives' might.  The book discusses how the family was affected when each wife joined the family and how each wife dealt with their marriage to Kody as well as the family as a whole.  I'll be honest and say that from watching the show, I really don't like Robin and Meri.  However, the book gave me a different perspective on Robin and I dislike her less now than I used to.  Meri came off as kind of a bully and as someone who claimed to want to live the polygamous lifestyle but didn't want to be very accomodating to some of her sister wives.  What I think was most interesting about this book, is how little we see of Kody's perspective.  His point of view is kind of interwoven within each wives' story rather than him having his own section.

Overall, if you are a fan of the television show, you will enjoy thi sbook.  It is a fast, easy read and definitely gives you more background as to how the family works.  4 stars.