Host Bethany Grabow talks with Nadene LeCheminant, author of the book The Gates of Eden. This historical fiction tells the story of Josephine Bell, a seventeen-year-old girl who leaves the slums of Liverpool for a Mormon settlement in Utah Territory in the 1850s, only to find the promised land isn’t quite as promised.
The Gates of Eden has been described as “a coming-of-age story, a harrowing account of immigration in 19th-century America, an exploration of religious faith and motivation, and a chilling and suspenseful depiction of conditions that can lead to the unspeakable in human behavior.” Tune in to learn about the handcart pioneers, polygamy in the early days of the Mormon faith, and how learning her family history led the author to write a story based on real life events.
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