Florence, OR -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/01/2013 -- While ‘But One Husband: The Truth about Mormon History by a Woman Who Lived It’ is only just entering the limelight, it’s an insightful historical story that has been a part of the Saxby family history since 1925.

Written by Luella Pool Saxby about her grandmother – Sarah Ann Thirkell - the book boasts both the story and pictures of the family’s history from 1849 onwards. In 2013, fulfilling the promise she made to her grandmother just weeks before she died, Oregon’s Joan D. Saxby is announcing the formal release of ‘But One Husband’.

Synopsis:

But One Husband is a true, historical autobiography of Sarah Ann Thirkell. The story begins in 1849 in Yorkshire, England with Sarah Ann's father, John Thirkell, who is the gamekeeper for Lord Cardigan, worried about raising his 5 daughters around such a philandering royal.

He is approached by two strangers who are Mormon missionaries who tell him about a prophet who will come to save the world, as Jesus did. They promised John a life of harmony, opportunity and brotherhood if he takes his family to America and serves their leader, Brigham Young, well.

John decides to join the Church and make the journey to America in 1852. The night before the ship is to set sail, the rumor goes around that the men are all to take plural wives when they get to Utah. John's wife, Mary, panics and forces her husband to never bring another woman into their home. And with that, their heart-breaking, frustrating journey begins.

Once they are in Utah, they find themselves in the middle of the opposite of what the missionaries promised.

This book is true and it shares a fascinating glimpse into the Mormon way of life and the day to day lives of the pioneers who risked everything to make a better life for themselves.

As the author’s granddaughter explains, the book offers a series of historical lessons.

“While sharing amazing details about the pioneers’ way of thinking and living, the book also serves as an example of how people can follow the wrong leaders for the wrong reasons and find themselves in complete despair,” says Saxby, whose grandmother took twenty five years to complete the book.

Continuing, “My grandmother, Luella Pool Saxby, took this story from the actual diaries of Sarah Ann Thirkell, who was her grandmother. It was a true labor of love. I promised my grandmother, weeks before she died, that I would publish her book and make it available for all to see. I am now fulfilling her wish.”

To help readers visualize the life and times of the book’s courageous characters, stunning original photographs have been included within its pages. Taken in the 1850s and 1860s, every image was photographed by one of Saxby’s relatives.

“Since the diaries were written in the 1800s, I never met any of the book’s characters, but the combined story and images have helped me grow very close to them. While readers won’t have the same blood connection that I do, they will find the images powerful and engaging; giving them a deeper understanding of the sacrifices many people made to better the lives of those around them,” she adds.

It’s easy to see why Saxby’s grandmother would be delighted with her efforts. Critics expect the book to be in high demand, so interested readers are urged to purchase their copy as soon as possible.

‘But One Husband: The Truth about Mormon History by a Woman Who Lived It’, published by iUniverse, is available from Amazon: http://amzn.to/Vu2B67

About the Author: Luella Pool Saxby
Luella Pool Saxby spent twenty-five years writing But One Husband from the original diaries of her grandmother, Sarah Ann Thirkell Pool. Born in 1893, Luella was a police matron, department store detective, artist, poet, and business owner before her death in 1989. This was her first and only book, brought to life by her granddaughter’s promise to her long ago.