The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir

Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of child sexual abuse and neglect, domestic violence, graphically depicted deaths, and religious abuse and trauma.

Mexican culture is a key motif in the memoir, as Ruth and her family spent most of their childhood living in northern Mexico, and the valley where LeBaron is located sits firmly and clearly in Ruth’s memories as a place of deep significance. The culture and the LeBaron landscape remind Ruth of her experiences and thematically support both The Flaws and Dangers of Fundamentalism and The Joys, Pains, and Sacrifices of Familial Love. In Ruth’s early childhood, she looked forward to Mexican food, especially tortillas, as a special treat. She and her family were often around Mexican people because they frequently traveled between the US and Mexico as well as to the nearby towns around LeBaron.

The colony was built in northern Mexico so that its followers could avoid American laws against polygamy while continuing to receive US financial assistance in the form of welfare and food stamps. During one such excursion back from the US, Ruth had a pivotal experience: She saw a boy living in a box and realized that the poverty she experienced could get much worse.