Audiobook Review: Sister Wife by Christine Brown Woolley
Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom
Author: Christine Brown Woolley
Narrator: Christine Brown Woolley
Published: September 2, 2025
Audiobook: 8 hours 43 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: September 2-5, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
From TLC’s Sister Wives star Christine Brown Woolley, a groundbreaking and heartfelt memoir about living in a family like no other and finding the strength to leave Mormonism—and the only life she’s known—behind.
Christine Brown Woolley had always dreamed of having a picture-perfect family—beautiful children, an adoring husband, and of course, a sisterhood of wives to share him with. Raised in Utah by practicing polygamists, Christine knew her life was less than normal, but that didn’t stop her from loving the full house of her childhood any less.
Becoming Kody Brown’s third wife in 1994, Christine finally found the big, happy family she had hoped for. When TLC’s hit show Sister Wives premiered in 2010, Christine knew it was her chance to shine a light on the brighter side of polygamy—the helping hands, the lively discussions, and their unmatched devotion to each other. But the cameras also revealed a much darker truth.
Now, in this candid tell-all, Christine shares for the first time the journey that led her away from the Morman church and the bold path she is carving to live apart from all she has ever known. Moving, genuine, and insightful, this is a uniquely powerful tour de force of Christine’s journey toward and beyond her time in the spotlight as a sister wife.
Jessica’s Review:
I first watched some of Sister Wives years ago, and for some reason I decided to start it over and watch it in December of 2023. I am all caught up, and yes, I have a favorite former sister wife (Janelle all the way!) and a strong dislike for Kody. After finishing Christine’s memoir my opinion of Kody is this: He’s a total douche! Yes, this is Christine’s perspective of her life, but I mean, if you have seen the show, then you know: It’s like a ‘knife to the kidneys’!
I know that reality shows are not necessarily ‘real’, but there are some things mentioned in Woolley’s memoir that give a whole different perspective on the show. When I found out about the book, I knew I wanted to read or listen to it. Woolley narrates the memoir herself and it sounds just like how she speaks and it was like she was speaking to me.
Christine can be a bit ‘much’ at times on the show but she is who she is and you can take it or leave it. We find out the details about the falling out Christine had with Meri, and the closeness she gets with Janelle over time. She goes into the Mormon religion, polygamy, her background and her dislike for Warren Jeffs and the FLDS, which she was not a part of. She goes full throttle telling everything with no holding back. From her first kiss at the alter to the wedding night, to the lack of a sex life, to finally leaving Kody and the polygamist way of life. To starting over, and finding a love that she fully deserves with David Woolley. Christine has lived quite a life.
People are talking about the details of Christine and Kody’s sex life, and many other things that were believed from the show and confirmed with the memoir, but there were many other things that were not on the show: Yes, the sister wives did drink in Vegas. How early on Christine thought about leaving Kody, but never acted on it. And how much things changed early on once Robyn came into the picture. Things are definitely not how they appear on television! What I found shocking was Christine was at the beginnings of addiction to oxycodone, but realized it and was able to get off of it herself.
There was so much more I could say, but I will just say this: Read or listen to the memoir if you are a fan of the show! I really hope Meri and Janelle also write memoirs one day so we can hear their side of their lives!