{"id":2225190,"date":"2024-04-19T12:34:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T16:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/author-carrie-sheffield-recounts-harrowing-childhood-in-new-book-motorhome-prophecies\/"},"modified":"2024-04-19T12:38:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T16:38:14","slug":"author-carrie-sheffield-recounts-harrowing-childhood-in-new-book-motorhome-prophecies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/author-carrie-sheffield-recounts-harrowing-childhood-in-new-book-motorhome-prophecies\/","title":{"rendered":"Writer Carrie Sheffield Shares Childhood Challenges in Latest Book &#8216;Motorhome Prophecies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fauthor-carrie-sheffield-recounts-harrowing-childhood-in-new-book-motorhome-prophecies%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2225190&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Daily Wire \u2064interviewed policy analyst and \u200cauthor \u2062Carrie Sheffield about her latest\u200d book \u2064\u201cMotorhome Prophecies: A \u2064Journey of Healing and Forgiveness.\u201d Sheffield discusses the impact of her father&#8217;s\u2063 beliefs, her\u200d journey to healing,\u2063 and the\u200d influence\u2064 of mental illness. The conversation sheds\u2063 light \u200bon overcoming childhood trauma, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/high-school-caught-flying-palestinian-flag-in-place-of-american-flag-sparks-major-outrage\/\" title=\"High School Caught Flying Palestinian Flag in Place of American Flag Sparks Major Outrage\">addressing political issues<\/a>, and the\u2062 power of faith \u2063in mental health recovery.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Daily Wire caught up with policy analyst and author Carrie Sheffield to talk with her about her new book \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Motorhome-Prophecies-Journey-Healing-Forgiveness\/dp\/1546004386\/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1MCPY1LY9G6BK&#038;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.U6jLnuG0UcJjuJ69YTShvcQr6Ezo_ux8egpxy3_tX0obBqozBXOQNMUa7_8fEazolWcS-NOWXGIsih85r2eeNz9V1jGTrnR4mSUZ_fIVhexCclFVtHgIjULyOD7pCboqgN_6orCmPsl-M5S082BZjA.v0WeUS8vwaUdtnuSzFCJH91q6PUV9wLYp4UlOmSaUR0&#038;dib_tag=se&#038;keywords=motorhome+prophecies&#038;qid=1713538529&#038;sprefix=motorhome%2Caps%2C93&#038;sr=8-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness,<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d (CenterStreet\/Hachette Book Group).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>DW: Let\u2019s start with politics. You\u2019ve served as a policy analyst and columnist for several years now, both in New York and in Washington. Which issues are paramount in your mind as we head into the 2024 presidential election season?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Sheffield:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  Certainly the economy and immigration are top of mind for many voters, including me. The fact that inflation has ravaged household wages is an ongoing and pervasive problem. The fact that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/housing-groups-urged-the-fed-to-stop-raising-interest-rates-as-the-industry-suffers\/\" title=\"Housing groups plead with Fed to halt interest rate hikes amid industry struggles.\">average monthly mortgage payments<\/a> under Biden have skyrocketed means real pain and the dream of home ownership moves out of reach for more American families. Seeing our border towns and cities like New York and Chicago overrun with sanitation issues and safety problems due to Biden\u2019s failed immigration policies is discouraging and must be stopped.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>DW: Speaking of presidents, in \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Motorhome-Prophecies-Journey-Healing-Forgiveness\/dp\/1546004386\/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1MCPY1LY9G6BK&#038;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.U6jLnuG0UcJjuJ69YTShvcQr6Ezo_ux8egpxy3_tX0obBqozBXOQNMUa7_8fEazolWcS-NOWXGIsih85r2eeNz9V1jGTrnR4mSUZ_fIVhexCclFVtHgIjULyOD7pCboqgN_6orCmPsl-M5S082BZjA.v0WeUS8vwaUdtnuSzFCJH91q6PUV9wLYp4UlOmSaUR0&#038;dib_tag=se&#038;keywords=motorhome+prophecies&#038;qid=1713538529&#038;sprefix=motorhome%2Caps%2C93&#038;sr=8-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Motorhome Prophecies<\/a>\u201d you write that your father was convinced he was a Mormon prophet destined to become president of the United States. Looking back, how did that influence the way your family lived?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Sheffield:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  Yes, my dad claimed that he\u2019d be U.S. president one day. He also made some unproven claims, like President Reagan designating MLK Jr. Day because of my dad\u2019s work supporting Dr. King\u2019s messages and that his political essays influenced then-Speaker Newt Gingrich to impeach Bill Clinton.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Politics was in my dad\u2019s blood because his father had been a successful Utah state lawmaker. He was also former chairman of the Salt Lake City Zoning and Planning Commission for 25 years. That his firstborn son would follow him into politics wasn\u2019t too far-fetched.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">My dad\u2019s beliefs about his destiny absolutely motivated our nationwide travels in a street musical orchestra attracting listeners and then passing out patriotic and religious brochures. But the proselytizing came at an expensive price \u2014 his kids\u2019 mental health and happiness. Multiple siblings have attempted suicide, two developed schizophrenia (it\u2019s well documented that schizophrenia\u2019s onset is exacerbated by childhood trauma), and I struggled with periodic suicidal ideation, depression, PTSD, and anxiety because of our dad\u2019s zealotry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite the negative aspects, dad gave me a deep love of our exceptional country, of intellectual inquiry, and beautiful music. Though we\u2019ve had many disagreements, I know in his heart he has a deep desire to serve others through his work. I think his love of country in some ways blinded him to his personal life\u2019s failures. That is a common fatal flaw for public servants. Children of politicians often experience abandonment problems as adults. Each generation must recognize and heal our own hurts.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_726119\" style=\"width: 391px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-726119\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">CenterStreet\/Hachette book Group<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>DW: \u201cMotorhome Prophecies\u201d is written in the vein of famous memoirs like \u201cHillbilly Elegy\u201d by J.D. Vance, \u201cThe Glass Castle\u201d by Jeanette Walls, and \u201cEducated\u201d by Tara Westover, all stories of young Americans growing up in very broken families. Yet each author is somehow able to escape and overcome their childhood trauma and find success as an adult. What were some factors that helped you overcome your childhood?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Sheffield:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  Necessity is the mother of invention. I knew that if I wanted a better life than the dark, dangerous one around me I needed to be resourceful, pragmatic and humble enough to ask for help. The bravest thing I\u2019ve done took place when I was 18. In terms of the initial departure, here\u2019s a passage from the book, it was actually my schizophrenic brother\u2019s sexual assault and attempted rape that spurred me to start the process of leaving:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It would prove a long winding path, but Peter\u2019s assault eventually became a catalyst for me to scrutinize my faith, to pray for God\u2019s protection and guidance, and, eventually, to reject Ralph\u2019s false prophecies and run away from home. I\u2019m the fifth oldest sibling, but I was the first to escape the clutches of The Mission. That harrowing night back in 2000 taught me a lesson that would be reinforced time and again: life\u2019s most wrenching crucibles can propel us to our greatest moments of growth and freedom.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I pushed myself to achieve in my career and work in public policy because I wanted a better life for myself than remaining trapped in a violent and impoverished environment. Also, as a woman, I wanted to bask in the freedoms denied my mother and myself as the first girl with four older brothers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Early on, I also felt a sense of jaded insecurity that fueled my ambition. I wanted to prove my dad wrong. He prophesied that I\u2019d be raped and murdered if I left the cult. I decided I\u2019d soar to career heights surpassing his own. It\u2019s a toxic, unstable motivation, to prove someone wrong, and it eventually comes crashing down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another reason I left was that I\u2019d undertaken a long-term investigation into my dad and found his handwritten prophecies were in direct opposition to the teachings of the official LDS Church\u2019s hierarchy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For many years I struggled. I would paint myself in these absolutist black and white terms, that my dad was evil and that I was a hero for escaping. Today, though, I know I am not the hero of this book, but I am also not the villain. God is the hero, and though I thought my father was the villain, I now see he was crushed by severe religious zealotry sparked by mental illness after suffering sexual assault as a toddler. He also suffered through the death of his childhood best friend which led to enduring isolation. He\u2019s just as deserving of God\u2019s mercy and compassion as I am. I love my father and am sorry I waited so long to forgive him. I believe forgiving him earlier would have stopped me from some toxic self-sabotaging that I did to cope with the trauma.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_726171\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-726171\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Carrie Sheffield.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>DW: Your book deals a lot with mental illness. Authors like Abigail Shrier and Jonathan Haidt have also written books this year on young people struggling with mental illness. It seems to be a growing problem. Why do you think it\u2019s a common thread and what are the broader takeaways found in \u201cMotorhome Prophecies\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>Sheffield: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Certainly depression and suicide are rising, and this is troubling. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late last year released <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thedispatch.acemlna.com\/lt.php?s=b497b0dace4b29102719b273346a3dbb&#038;i=2147A2461A1A75103\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">provisional data<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">showing nearly 50,000 people committed suicide in the United States in 2022. This nearly 3% increase from 2021 is the highest number ever recorded and the highest rate since 1941 \u2014 the aftershocks of the Great Depression. It\u2019s nearly 17 times the number of people killed in the terrorist attacks of 9\/11.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gen Z is far more secular than their parents were when they were young, and I think it\u2019s no coincidence Gen Z is also suffering far greater isolation and mental illness. This is a trend we can and must reverse. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">People who attend religious services at least weekly are significantly less likely to die \u201cdeaths of despair\u201d\u2014 suicide, drug overdose, or alcohol poisoning, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsph.harvard.edu\/news\/press-releases\/regularly-attending-religious-services-associated-with-lower-risk-of-deaths-of-despair\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">according to 2020 research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  from Harvard University\u2019s School of Public Health. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A literature review appearing in Psychiatric Times<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatrictimes.com\/view\/religion-spirituality-and-mental-health\">reported<\/a>: \u201cOf 93 observational studies, two-thirds found lower rates of depressive disorder with fewer depressive symptoms in persons who were more religious. \u2026 a review of 134 studies that examined the relationships between religious involvement and substance abuse [concluded that] 90% found less substance abuse among the more religious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ironically, research from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/record\/2020-50618-001\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Psychology of Religion and Spirituality<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  found atheism correlates with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psypost.org\/new-psychological-research-links-atheism-to-emotional-suppression\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">emotional suppression<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Psychology professors (along with biologists) are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">least<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  likely among all disciplines to believe in God, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harvardmagazine.com\/2007\/07\/faculty-faith-html#:~:text=A%20professor's%20field%20of%20research,%2C%20economists%2C%20and%20political%20scientists.\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Harvard reported.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  The journal <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sociology of Religion <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/05\/psychologists-are-least-religious-of.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">similarly found<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  that psychologists are the least religious of American professors. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a troubling combination. The same trained experts ordained to heal mental disorders are sometimes the very ones who are skeptical of rescuing balm.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A recovered agnostic, I experienced the power of faith to heal my own mental health, as I recount in my book. The biggest hurdle I needed to overcome was comprehending the difference between man-made abuse and healthy faith in God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>DW: Eventually you went to college and ended up at Harvard\u2019s Kennedy School of Government. How did your worldview change while in Cambridge?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Sheffield:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  I became more aware of the narratives around \u201cprivilege\u201d being crafted at places like Harvard. I gained a sense of understanding perhaps their altruistic impulse \u2014 indeed, our country had sexism, slavery, and Jim Crow as stains in our history. But eventually, I came to realize that good intentions do not equal good outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At Harvard, I also became more entrenched as an agnostic, which is sad because Harvard was founded to help clergy grow their intellectual capacity to teach the mind of God. Around 7 years after I graduated, during my Christian conversion process, the more I studied science, including metaphysics, history, anthropology, and other disciplines, the more my faith in God and my confidence in Christianity grew. Studying Christianity felt like uncovering buried treasure discarded by intellectuals at places like Harvard who had discounted its scientific and philosophical heft.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>DW: You\u2019ve written many articles over the years for various periodicals, but this is your first time writing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whats-michael-knowles-reading-these-days\/\" title=\"What\u2019s Michael Knowles Reading These Days?\">full-length book<\/a>. What was the process like for you?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Sheffield:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  Writing a 90,000 word book is indeed a far heavier lift than a news article. I tell people who ask advice for writing a memoir to begin a journal today if they don\u2019t already. This memoir genre was made far easier for me because I\u2019ve got a stack of journals to assist. I\u2019ve kept a journal since age 8 because journaling is strongly encouraged in the LDS Church and Mormon diaspora community due to strong cultural appreciation of genealogy and family history \u2014 the LDS Church has more than 2 billion records in its genealogy database. Also, as a newer faith, we know many things about its early origins due to contemporaneous journals. As a journalist, the personal journals made the process far easier for accuracy \u2014 I didn\u2019t have to make up what I was thinking, I knew directly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Daily Wire recently interviewed policy analyst and author Carrie Sheffield regarding her latest book &#8220;Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness&#8221; published by CenterStreet\/Hachette Book Group. Sheffield, with a background in policy analysis and column writing, delves into politics during the discussion, drawing from her experience in New York and beyond<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":276,"featured_media":2225191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-481102027.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2225190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-481102027.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/276"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2225190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2225191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2225190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2225190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2225190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}