Contact: Sharon Farnell, Planned Television Arts, 212-593-6337, farnells@plannedtvarts.com 

MEDIA ADVISORY, Sept. 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- The shocking news of polygamous cults has sparked a national dialogue on religious sects. Splintered from and repudiated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, these secretive families exist in a world far removed from mainstream American culture.

Yet for Brian Mackert, life inside this sect was all too real. As the 28th child in a family of one father, four mothers, and 30 siblings, Brian experienced firsthand the devastating realities of polygamous cults. Brian's family belonged to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), the same splinter group that made headlines when its Texas compound was raided and children were taken from their families due to suspected abuse.

In a provocative new book called Illegitimate: How a Loving God Rescued a Son of Polygamy (October 2008 - David C. Cook), Brian Mackert takes readers behind today's shocking headlines of this controversial sect, and gives us a glimpse as to what it was like to grow up as a child in the FLDS. A heart-wrenching and gripping account, it is the first-ever memoir written by a man raised inside the FLDS.

In Illegitimate, Brian reveals:
• The true facts behind the hype about this polygamous cult and its effect on children
• The specific effect of the FLDS splinter group on young boys, and how they are systematically forced out of their communities to make room for "elite" men to have multiple wives.
• His own personal story of self-destruction - the anger, rage and hopelessness he felt regarding his own future that led him down a path of self destruction with drugs and alcohol, to eventually plotting his own father's murder.
• The process of healing and forgiveness - Brian shares his powerful journey of healing and forgiveness.
• His work today as a Baptist minister who is working in prison ministry, where he reaches out to inmates who are sex offenders, victims of neglect and abuse, and those who have grown up fatherless or with an abusive father, just as he did.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Brian Mackert was a seventh generation Mormon whose family roots in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) date back to the days of founder Joseph Smith Jr. Brian's ancestors broke away from the LDS Church when it abandoned the practice of polygamy and became part of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Today, Brian is a telecommunications engineer and a Baptist minister who speaks periodically at churches and organizations across the country.

For review copies or interview requests, please contact Sharon Farnell at 212-593-6337; farnells@plannedtvarts.com