Born into a mainstream Mormon family in 1960 and the youngest of three, Joanne lived where her father’s Air Force career took the family, which included Washington state, Maine, Florida and California. After her father retired from the Air Force in 1972, the family settled in Orem, Utah, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Joanne married Jeff Hanks in 1987 in the Salt Lake Temple. Five years and three children later, the Hanks moved to Manti, Utah, and joined the Mormon-derived, polygamist cult The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days, or “TLC” for short. Seven years later, the Hanks did something that the religiously deluded and cult members rarely do. They saw through the madness and left.
While in the cult, the Hanks were featured on 20/20 (Barbara Walters and John Stossel) and by broadcast and print media in San Francisco, Great Britain, Brazil, Sweden and others. After leaving the cult in 2000, they were featured on CNN (Paula Zahn Now) and in Vogue magazine.
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Wow. This podcast blew my mind. I was listening with a mix of interest and horror. You want to know how it is going to end but you are shaking your head the whole time. “Don’t go down those stairs!”
Havent listened to this just yet, because I wanted to read her book first. That is one heck of a story. Hope the podcast is just as good!
Sad. Just really really sad.