title: Blood Is Thicker Than Holy Water
author: Kelly, Sean
description: Sean Kelly was born in a small town in Georgia to a Mormon family. Growing up Mormon in the Southern Baptist Bible Belt was like being raised Jewish in Utah—nothing seemed to fit. So every time a news story would break about another raid on a cult compound full of polygamists and fourteen-year-old brides, Sean was surprised at how many people expressed shock at the cult members’ apparent inability to simply walk away. He knew that breaking away from the religion of your birth could cost you everything, and that these battles are not reserved for the overtly crazy. They happen every day. Blood Is Thicker than Holy Water is the explosive tale of one such latter-day crusade.