Press the BUY NOW button to purchase "The First Wife". Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.

This book follows the amazing life of a pioneer woman. It shows the tremendous amount of work and sacrifice that these early women were asked to endure, and chronicles their struggle for survival.

Mary Ann was converted to the Mormon Church in England and traveled to Nauvoo with her family to be with the Saints. She was a strong, stubborn woman who encountered many problems throughout her life. Her husband became ill after coming to Nauvoo, and Mary Ann was forced to take his place guarding against the mobs. With only a stick to protect her, she fought off her attackers. Later she lost her loving husband and then was forced from her home in the Battle of Nauvoo. She suffered among the poor on the banks of the Mississippi River and was later rescued and taken to a settlement near Winter Quarters.

Destitute and starving, she agreed to marry a man to help her family. He ended up being abusive and left her pregnant with six of his children and three of hers to care for. Her husband's disappearance led leaders of the church to proclaim him dead, and Mary Ann was asked by Brigham Young to marry a young 23-year-old, Edward Pugh, in order to protect her family.

Mary Ann struggles throughout the book with the practice of plural marriage but is later asked to live this law. She has a difficult time sharing her husband with a young 17-year-old girl.

This is a story of one of the unsung heroes of this pioneer era. Of the many amazing stories that can be told from this period of time, Mary Ann's story is unique.