Unexpected: The Backstory of Finding Elizabeth Smart and Growing Up in the Culture of an American Religion
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- Create Date：2023-03-03 17:21:26
- Update Date：2025-09-13
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- Author：Chris Thomas
- ISBN：1637587694
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Summary
Chris Thomas is not yet thirty years old when he finds himself managing the immense pressure， eccentric personalities， and extenuating circumstances of an international story， where one small misstep could adversely impact the search for a missing teenager and the reputation of her family。 Now， twenty years later， Thomas takes readers behind the scenes， providing new details， perspectives， and commentary on finding Elizabeth Smart。
In the process of reflecting on Elizabeth’s search and rescue， Thomas discovers how growing up in the culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints （commonly known as Mormon） helped push him to develop the exact kind of intuition needed to manage Elizabeth’s kidnapping and rescue， and to do so while the world watched。
juxtaposes crucial events from the Smart case with Thomas’s experience growing up in the Latter-day Saint culture， including coming to understand the secret of a broken war hero before it was too late。
In the process of reflecting on Elizabeth’s search and rescue， Thomas discovers how growing up in the culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints （commonly known as Mormon） helped push him to develop the exact kind of intuition needed to manage Elizabeth’s kidnapping and rescue， and to do so while the world watched。
juxtaposes crucial events from the Smart case with Thomas’s experience growing up in the Latter-day Saint culture， including coming to understand the secret of a broken war hero before it was too late。
Reviews
Erin Clemence
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Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free， electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review。 Expected publication date: March 7， 2023 Chris Thomas is a writer， publicist and communications specialist， who served as one of the PR representatives for the Smart family during the Elizabeth Smart abduction。 Thomas is also an active member of the Church of Latter Day Saints， commonly known as Mormons， and he describes the Mormon religion in detail， and how it Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free， electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review。 Expected publication date: March 7， 2023 Chris Thomas is a writer， publicist and communications specialist， who served as one of the PR representatives for the Smart family during the Elizabeth Smart abduction。 Thomas is also an active member of the Church of Latter Day Saints， commonly known as Mormons， and he describes the Mormon religion in detail， and how it attributed to the behaviours and the attitudes the Smart family held before， and after， the kidnapping。 This novel is not specifically separated as such but it has three parts to it; one， Thomas during his time as the PR rep with the Smart family during Elizabeth’s abduction; two， Thomas’ upbringing and family life and three， a breakdown and examination of the Mormon religion， including its prejudices， stereotypes and misunderstandings by society at large。 Thomas does his best to tie all three of these together into a well-packaged story， and he manages this， for the most part。 “Unexpected: The Backstory of Finding Elizabeth Smart and Growing Up in the Culture of an American Religion” has a foreword by Smart， so you can assume Thomas received her full approval to go ahead with his pseudo-memoir。 That being said， Elizabeth herself is rarely in Thomas’ book， as he came into play after she was abducted。 Thomas does provide details on what went on behind-the-scenes， including the family tensions with each other and with the police and other cutthroat journalists that took place as a result。 （Thomas does all of this respectfully of course）。 （For those who are looking for Elizabeth’s experience， I recommend Smart’s own book， “My Story”）。I did not know much about Latter Day Saints before reading this novel， and Thomas provided an interesting perspective， being a life-long member。 He highlights the religion in a positive note， obliterating the “polygamous” and “cult-like” monikers the religion has received over the years。 Like most religions， it has its negative parts as well， but Thomas’ focus is exclusively on the religions’ sense of community and commitment。 “Unexpected” is part true crime， part memoir。 The behind-the-scenes look at the experiences of the Smart family was emotional and raw， but it was also the most interesting part for me。 I don’t know Thomas well enough to have a stake in his background or life history， and I am too cynical to look at any religion in an overly positive way。 “Unexpected” should not be read by anyone looking for Elizabeth’s story， but does provide an honest look at the life of a public relations agent faced with the immediate pressure of being thrust into the spotlight with a young girls’ life at stake。 。。。more
julianne
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I really wanted to enjoy this， but I found the author's backstory to be distracting and to me it devalued the whole book。 When the book stuck to telling Elizabeth Smart's story I found it compelling and very interesting， but once the author started telling his story I got bored。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest， unbiased review。 I really wanted to enjoy this， but I found the author's backstory to be distracting and to me it devalued the whole book。 When the book stuck to telling Elizabeth Smart's story I found it compelling and very interesting， but once the author started telling his story I got bored。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest， unbiased review。 。。。more
BirthdayReese
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As a parent of young children， I do not have a lot of time for reading for pleasure。 I started this book at 9 p。m。 and planned on reading for an hour and possibly getting a few chapters in。 Well the book got the better of me and I couldn’t put it down all night。At 6:50 a。m。 the following morning I was racing to finish it before my children woke up。 I assumed the book would be about the behind the scenes info of the Elizabeth Smart case。 It does give many less known and previously unknown details As a parent of young children， I do not have a lot of time for reading for pleasure。 I started this book at 9 p。m。 and planned on reading for an hour and possibly getting a few chapters in。 Well the book got the better of me and I couldn’t put it down all night。At 6:50 a。m。 the following morning I was racing to finish it before my children woke up。 I assumed the book would be about the behind the scenes info of the Elizabeth Smart case。 It does give many less known and previously unknown details of the case， but it’s the author’s story of his childhood that draws you in。 I found this book to be a very captivating read。 There are some parts of the book where the author mentions his religious beliefs。 While I am not a religious person， I found the author’s explanation of various parts of his religion informative and not preachy。 Because it was not preachy， it made it very relatable。 I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for an engaging and entertaining read。 。。。more
Chris Baldwin
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Twenty years ago the attention of the world was focused on finding 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart who was kidnapped in her sleep from her Utah home。 Anyone who remembers Elizabeth's abduction will want to learn more and Chris' book does just that detailing the challenges， debates， disappointments and opinions that guided the Smart family throughout this nightmare。 He shows the perils of dealing with a family desperately trying to find their daughter， while dealing with an onslaught of press confere Twenty years ago the attention of the world was focused on finding 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart who was kidnapped in her sleep from her Utah home。 Anyone who remembers Elizabeth's abduction will want to learn more and Chris' book does just that detailing the challenges， debates， disappointments and opinions that guided the Smart family throughout this nightmare。 He shows the perils of dealing with a family desperately trying to find their daughter， while dealing with an onslaught of press conferences， interviews and incorrect information from the media both here and around the world for nine months。 Chris' firsthand experience working daily with the media and the family to keep attention focused on finding Elizabeth is fascinating， and at times ugly too。 Chris' book is just that， unexpected。 While sharing the story about searching for and eventually finding Elizabeth， he provides insight into his Mormon faith and childhood moments that guided him throughout。 From growing up in The Church of Latter-day Saints and his faith journey to being a eight-year old entrepreneur selling nightcrawlers to raise money for a new bike。 Hearing about his childhood and the moments really adds to the Smart story。 Perhaps the most unexpected story in Chris' book though is about his relationship with his drunk and angry， World War 2 veteran neighbor Baker。 Like most of the bullies from our childhoods， he share stories about fearing Baker and the conflicts that terrorized him to growing up and confronting Baker and facing his fears to the tears he shed when Baker died。 In a story about Elizabeth Smart， Chris' story within it is both moving and thoughtful and really brings it all together。History often shows that whether it's fate， divine intervention or circumstance， that the right people with the right experience and drive come together at the right moments to define the moment。 Chris' book show this and that sometimes you really should expect the unexpected。 。。。more
Jeremy
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An interesting peek behind the scenes of one of the most sensational events in American True Crime。 Part of the memoir chronicles Thomas’ upbringing in a 1980’s Utahn suburban community and how the lessons learned provided the seed for some of the important insights and strategies that helped him succeed in many of the near-impossible situations during his involvement in the Elizabeth Smart saga。 I truly enjoyed revisiting the nostalgia of my own 80’s childhood that were reawakened through Thoma An interesting peek behind the scenes of one of the most sensational events in American True Crime。 Part of the memoir chronicles Thomas’ upbringing in a 1980’s Utahn suburban community and how the lessons learned provided the seed for some of the important insights and strategies that helped him succeed in many of the near-impossible situations during his involvement in the Elizabeth Smart saga。 I truly enjoyed revisiting the nostalgia of my own 80’s childhood that were reawakened through Thomas’ colorful retelling of his early experiences。 I was awestruck with so many aspects of Elizabeth’s abduction （and her amazing rescue） that i hadn’t heard about when watching the news unfold back in 2002-2003。 It was also especially intriguing to get an insider’s look at the way that journalists and media-news organizations function and how the hunger of the 24-hour news cycle （even back then） seemed to take on a life of its own。 This is a well crafted memoir that expertly contrasts how the experiences of the past can be critical to life’s present challenges and how hope， faith and hard work can sometimes manifest miracles in unexpected ways。 I wound up reading this book over a single weekend and I highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys an suspenseful， sometimes emotional， satisfying read。 。。。more
Marcus Hardy
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I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for when I picked this up。 I knew I was going to be the first ever Kindle Edition reader。 I knew about Elizabeth Smart’s story。 But in 2002 I was a lanky and somewhat unaware high schooler who had no idea he’d one day work in communications and media for a living。tl;dr: unexpected is a quick， satisfying read for anyone interested in true crime， communications， media， public relations or just good， reflective writing from an earnest author。Mr。 Thomas jumps seamless I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for when I picked this up。 I knew I was going to be the first ever Kindle Edition reader。 I knew about Elizabeth Smart’s story。 But in 2002 I was a lanky and somewhat unaware high schooler who had no idea he’d one day work in communications and media for a living。tl;dr: unexpected is a quick， satisfying read for anyone interested in true crime， communications， media， public relations or just good， reflective writing from an earnest author。Mr。 Thomas jumps seamlessly between recollections of his own childhood and adolescence and the time he spent being the primary media contact and frequent spokesperson for the Smart family after Elizabeth was abducted。 The format might strike the reader as self-serving at first glance — but like it did in “Where the Crawdads Sing，” the hopping starts to work if you give it a few chapters。It works because there is honest reflection on the religion and cultural mores of the Mormon faith and its impact on Utah communities — encapsulated just as much in how one community reacted to the sudden kidnapping of one of its own as it is in a childhood story of backyard fences being suddenly， simultaneously taken down。It works because it’s an honest， autobiographical reflection on life， and how the experiences we have in it sometimes prepare us for the unexpected things that might be ahead of us。 It works — and this is the real brass tax for me — because the author is writing as if he were delivering an oral history for posterity — and not as yet another participant chiming in on an already well known tale。 It's a truly 'new' viewpoint that explores an event from an angle that normally it never would be， with humility。I liked that especially because we communicators — we are usually in the back of the room。 Doing a whole lot that nobody sees。 Unexpected is true to that ethos while laying bare the realities of being a ‘PR guy’ and the powerful， unseen impact that advocation can sometimes have on the world。 。。。more
Leigh Dethman
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I couldn't put this book down。 As a crime junkie who loves to know the inside scoop， I enjoyed every detail of how the family organized the search and response， how Chris responded to the many demands of the media， and the often rocky relationship with the police。 It was also really interesting to learn more about how the Mormon culture played a role in things。 10/10 would recommend。 I couldn't put this book down。 As a crime junkie who loves to know the inside scoop， I enjoyed every detail of how the family organized the search and response， how Chris responded to the many demands of the media， and the often rocky relationship with the police。 It was also really interesting to learn more about how the Mormon culture played a role in things。 10/10 would recommend。 。。。more
Dane Christensen
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Really a fantastic book。 If you want to know more about Elizabeth Smart’s story， read this book。 If you want to learn about personal growth and becoming a better you， read this book。 If you just want to enjoy a heartwarming story about a young man and his difficult neighbor， read this book。When I cracked open this book I thought I would just be learning more about Elizabeth Smart’s incredible story， but in fact I learned about life and how so often the trials in our lives prepare us to make a di Really a fantastic book。 If you want to know more about Elizabeth Smart’s story， read this book。 If you want to learn about personal growth and becoming a better you， read this book。 If you just want to enjoy a heartwarming story about a young man and his difficult neighbor， read this book。When I cracked open this book I thought I would just be learning more about Elizabeth Smart’s incredible story， but in fact I learned about life and how so often the trials in our lives prepare us to make a difference in the lives of others when they might need us the most。 It was a heartwarming read that I honestly couldn’t put down。 。。。more
Sheila
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I received a free copy of， Unexpected ， by Chris Thomas， from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 I thought I was going to enjoy this book， but I did not。 It was some what interesting but I did not like the author。
Christina
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I absolutely devoured this book！ I was hooked on the Elizabeth Smart disappearance while it was ongoing and afterwards。 Chris Thomas was the family’s publicist and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the “backstage” insights to this highly publicized case。
Kathleen Riggs
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Elizabeth’s Return Should Satisfy True Crime BuffsChris Thomas is a writer， speaker， and communication professional and a member of the L。S。D。 church。 Chis is married and this story happened 20 years ago when Chris had only been married six months。 Chris grew up in the Latter-day Saint culture and this book is about Elizabeth Smart who went missing from the family home in the middle of the night in 2002。 Chris Thomas was only thirty when he became the Smart family publicist during the nine and a Elizabeth’s Return Should Satisfy True Crime BuffsChris Thomas is a writer， speaker， and communication professional and a member of the L。S。D。 church。 Chis is married and this story happened 20 years ago when Chris had only been married six months。 Chris grew up in the Latter-day Saint culture and this book is about Elizabeth Smart who went missing from the family home in the middle of the night in 2002。 Chris Thomas was only thirty when he became the Smart family publicist during the nine and a half months that Elizabeth Smart went missing。Chis has written a remarkable book which not only gives you the inside story into the Smart family’s dilemma when their daughter was kidnapped， but he describes how the L。S。D church comes together to help the family look for Elizabeth immediately。 Chris becomes the family spokesperson and navigates the Smart family， police， T。V and media over the next nine months。Chris tells the story in Unexpected about his experience of growing up as a Mormon in the church of Latter-day Saint culture。 Chris takes the readers behind the scenes， providing new details about Elizabeth’s abduction， and lets readers read how the LSD church is run and how he believes this helped him develop the intuition to navigate Elizabeth’s case。 Chris talks about how living next door as a child， to an alcoholic who verbally abuses both Chris’s father and Chris from age 3。 Chris at such a young age cannot understand what is wrong with Baker but later comes to understand the secret of his Neighbour as a broken war hero when Chris visits Baker to say goodbye。 Baker invites Chris into his home and Baker opens up and shares the trauma of how war changed him to the person he now is。 The story is heart wrenching and brings both to tears and leaves Chris with a better understanding of the old man next door。Chis does an extremely excellent job of tying together both his personal experiences growing up and the effect and toll of Elizabeth Smarts abduction on him personally and the Smart family。 John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted， credits Chris Thomas with the credit for keeping the public and family focused on finding Elizabeth。 Chris did 100’s of interviews， he helps the family navigate the press and takes 10’s of thousands of calls over nine months。 Chris helps with the Amber Alert， and the eventual rescue of Elizabeth。 Chis reckons the lessons learned as a child helped him develop the “intuition” to navigate Elizabeth’s case。A very well-balanced book on both Chris’s life in the LDS church and the Rape and Abduction of Elizabeth Smart with plenty of facts which have never been revealed before。 Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily 。。。more
Faith Stenard
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