The Celestial Wife
Leslie Howard

In the cult-like polygamous community of Redemption in southern British Columbia, the abuse of women and children is legitimized and hidden under the cloak of religion. Unhappy, overworked mothers take their frustration out on Daisy who is a scapegoat and receives little respect. She finds escape by listening to FM radio and the forbidden rock and roll of the early 1960s. While she yearns to see the outside world, leaving is impossible. Her father is an apostate, a nonbeliever who left Redemption. Daisy’s mother has been threatened with a blood atonement if she joins her husband.  

It is the eve of the Placement, when all the fifteen-year-old girls are to become plural wives by marrying a deserving member of the priesthood, a much older man. Excitement and speculation run high, but Daisy dreams of marriage to Tobias, a handsome young man from their sister community in Utah. Her best friend, Brighten, desperately hopes to be named the new celestial sister, a role that would save her from a forced marriage.

Daisy is assigned to marry the middle-aged Bishop Thorsen and both girls’ dreams are shattered. They try to run away together, but only Daisy makes it to the “outside.” A physical fight with the bishop leaves him with a permanent injury.

Daisy falls in with a band of flower children on their way to pick fruit in the orchards of the Okanagan Valley. She befriends Saffron and meets Jean, a moody Frenchman who has bought a ranch and is determined to show the world that the area is suitable for grape-growing and winemaking. He and his father have quarreled over his plans, leaving Jean angry but determined.

Five years later, Daisy is still struggling to find a way to help Brighten and others escape Redemption. She questions why the right to freedom of religion is used as an excuse for inaction against child sexual abuse, by police, prosecutors, and government.

Daisy immerses herself in the counterculture of the 1960’s, travelling to the iconic Woodstock Festival in 1969 where she embraces the hippie mantra of peace and love and is determined to share it with the people of Redemption. She hopes to convince them to leave the cult and find a happier life on the outside.

In one of Daisy and Brighten’s secretive conversations over a radio frequency, Brighten confides that she is pregnant and begs Daisy to help her escape before the baby is born. Daisy tries, but nothing works out.

Daisy decides that she must return to Redemption to help Brighten escape and to try to persuade the women to speak up about the abuse. She finds Redemption full of pitfalls and danger but when she is assigned to a job in the business office of the community, she discovers a way to blackmail the bishop into giving her what she wants.

The bishop decides that Daisy must be killed and assigns Tobias to commit the murder, but he is unable to carry it out because of his love for Daisy. Bishop Thorsen is killed instead.

Through Daisy’s efforts, women and children begin to leave Redemption. She uses money that her father left her to start a non-profit society dedicated to helping these women and their children start new lives. After years of trying to make up for her lack of education in Redemption, Daisy is finally accepted into law school and plans a career fighting injustice. She and Jean settle down together and live on his vineyard.