REXBURG — Growing up, Jared Garrett had what he describes as a unique origin story. Garrett was raised in a cult, until he ran away at the age of 17.
Garrett said during his tumultuous and troublesome childhood, he found solace in reading books. He read every book he could get his eyes on.
“I read a lot of books because they were basically my only safe place,” Garrett said. “It was the only thing I had any control over was to read and imagine stories. I probably read thousands of books.”
During this period, Garrett began to write. He wrote several books and poetry. Finally, Garrett was able to escape the cult and went to live with his dad in Utah.
Years later, he found himself living with one of his friends who had also left the cult. Garrett said that was how he was introduced to missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His friend had been invited by a “cute girl” to take the missionary lessons. Soon the missionaries began coming to their apartment.
“Every time they were sitting down to have a discussion, I was coming home,” Garrett said. “Those missionaries were inspired and smart. They found out about my life in this terrible cult. They found out about an ongoing hurt, deep, deep in me about how my oldest brother had escaped from the cult when he was much younger and when I was seven. Then I found out he'd been killed in a terrible, terrible event when I was 13.”
With that information, the missionaries knew what to do. They taught Garrett the Plan of Salvation – God's plan that Jesus Christ would atone for the sins of all mankind so they can live with God again – emphasizing how he could help his brother from this mortal life, as well as be with his future wife for time and all eternity.
That stuck with Garrett and through a personal experience with God, Garrett ultimately decided to be baptized.
Garrett says his troublesome time in the cult and his journey to the Church often find their way into his books. His latest series, “Finding Home,” draws from his own life. He self-published the first book in the series, “Beyond the Cabin,” in 2014 — not intending for it to be part of a series.
“I got to talking to a couple of people, and they're like, ‘Jared, it sounds like there's another book that you could write about this, because it's kind of you,’” Garrett said. “And they were right.”
Once Garrett started, he couldn’t stop. In just a couple of years, Garrett’s single book turned into a series of four novels: “Beyond the Cabin,” “Finding Home,” “Worlds Apart” and “Carry Your Heart.”
The “Finding Home” series is not all Garrett has written as he has now authored 15 books and published 12. Garrett takes part in several different genres and also writes under the pen name “Gerry Ironspear.”
Garrett says all of his life experiences have culminated in one important lesson.
“The most important thing to know is that everybody is God's children, and He loves us, and we have endless grace, and access to it,” Garrett said. “Life can be a lot better than we think sometimes.”
To learn more about Jared Garrett and his books, go to www.jaredgarrett.com, www.gerryironspear.com, or search for Jared Garrett on Amazon.