Valarie Clark Miller's Story | Emily Benedek

Hometown Betrayal

A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country

Forward by Elizabeth Smart (photo of Elizabeth)

Foreword by
Elizabeth Smart

The Miller family will donate 100% of profits they receive from the sale of this book to GenerationAll, a nonprofit dedicated to minimizing the generational impact of sexual abuse. Learn more at GenerationAll.org

About the Book

Hometown Betrayal: A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country

No one believed it could happen in their town.

Valarie Clark Miller seemed to have it all. Smart, beautiful, and athletic, with a wealthy, successful husband and a growing family, Valarie appeared to be the picture-perfect Mormon wife. But it was all a façade. Inside, she was crumbling from the pressures of long-repressed memories of a childhood plagued with sexual and physical abuse.

In Hometown Betrayal, author Emily Benedek brings you behind the closed doors of the remote Mormon community of Clarkston, Utah. With the help of hundreds of individual stories, she pieces together not only what happened to Valarie, but also the conditions and culture that allowed it. Hometown Betrayal culminates in an account of the Miller family’s fight to hold accountable the men—including the local cop—who abused Valarie and controlled the systems designed to look the other way.

About the Author

Emily Benedek

Emily Benedek grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard College. She is an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and tabletmag.com, among others. She is the author of the thriller, Red Sea. Hometown Betrayal is her sixth book. She lives in New York City.

For further reading, or to contact the author, visit www.emilybenedek.com

Pre-order Hometown Betrayal Now!

Available Everywhere Books Are Sold October 15, 2024

Praise

“Hometown Betrayal is a powerful book that exposes child sexual abuse at its worst. Some may think this story is an exception, but the national and global data tell us otherwise. We must break the silence and do more to stop both the horrific acts and cover-ups that negatively impact survivors, their families, and even the generations that follow. Thanks to the Millers for their perseverance and courage to share their tragic story so that we can all be moved into action!”

Susan Madsen, EdD
Founding Director, Utah Women & Leadership Project, Utah State University; Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership, Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University

“Hometown Betrayal recounts the remarkable story of a family’s quest for justice for terrible crimes committed decades earlier. All too often, such stories recount nothing but frustration, dead ends, and legal barriers. But in this case, the family was able to obtain some measure of justice. It is a powerful story of how, at least sometimes, the truth can ultimately be uncovered.”

Paul G. Cassell, JD
Ronald N. Boyce Presidential Professor of Criminal Law and University Distinguished Professor of Law, S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah

“The devastating and long-lasting impacts of child sexual abuse cannot be ignored. Valarie Miller’s story is a stark reminder to acknowledge the systemic failures many survivors encounter and a call to action to prevent such injustices from occurring in the future.”

Betsy Kanarowski, PhD, LCSW
Chief Clinical Officer, Saprea

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Hometown Betrayal | Emily Benedek

Hometown Betrayal

Hometown Betrayal: A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country

Emily Benedek

Pre-order Hometown Betrayal Now!

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Hometown Betrayal | Emily Benedek

Hometown Betrayal

Hometown Betrayal: A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country

Emily Benedek

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Pre-order Hometown Betrayal Now!

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