Loose Cannons: A Memoir of Mania and Mayhem in a Mormon Family

by Diana Cannon-Ragsdale

Diana Cannon-Ragsdale was born into a Mormon dynasty. Her father Ted Cannon was a local celebrity in Salt Lake City, and her family's ancestors were contemporaries of Brigham Young-and they had many dark secrets to keep.
Growing up at the mercy of her mother's depression and father's undiagnosed schizophrenia, Diana and her five siblings were left to fend for themselves as their mom and dad rotated in and out of psychiatric hospitals and police custody.
Finally, in 1966, Diana's mother left her family and the Mormon Church to start a new relationship with a woman, sending Diana's father into a tailspin.
In Loose Cannons , Diana traces her rebellious 1970s girlhood-amidst her father's multiple suicide attempts and remarriage to her mother's sister. As she and her siblings barreled into adulthoods they weren't ready for, they tried to rely on each other while reproducing broken relationships of their own.
Eventually, after several divorces and while raising three children of her own, Diana reconnected with her estranged mother and inherited a lifetime's worth of her journals. After decades spent searching for answers, her mother's writing about swingers' parties, sexual abuse, ancient wounds and broken attempts at happiness reframed everything Diana thought she knew about her family and herself.
A debut memoir like no other, Loose Cannons is a harrowing and hilarious saga spanning more than 60 years of multigenerational trauma and dysfunction-and the spiritual power it took to overcome it all.

Genres: Memoir

408 pages, Paperback

Published May 4, 2022

Reviews

[Alex Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This memoir was something out of a movie. The author has lived through so many traumatic events, but she didn’t wallow for long in self pity; instead, she showed compassion and sought explanations for all her family’s behavior. The most interesting parts of the book were her details about growing up Mormon, and the rituals associated with being in the church. I wasn’t aware of a lot of it, so it certainly opened my eyes to some of the hypocrisy of the religion. My criticism is that it wasn’t particularly well-written and dragged on. Someone definitely told the author that her life was so unbelievable that she should write a book. While true, it could have used some tighter editing to make it more compelling. Good read nonetheless.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir by a lady raised in a dysfunctional Mormon family. Well written. I think it would have more appeal for someone raised LDS or in Utah. I enjoyed it in part because I remember her father, Ted Cannon. But an interesting, easy read.
The two things that came to mind when I had finished the book was my new favorite poem, Philip Larkin's "This Be the Verse" (look it up), and scriptures like Exodus 34:7, that say God will visit "the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." Substitute "mental illness" for "iniquity" and "parents" for "fathers," and you get the idea.

[Sheila · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shallow, melodramatic, amateurish.
Poor me, my terrible childhood, and lost illusion of the Mormon royal family image has eaten me alive for years. Let me tell you how I failed at all my relationships, destroyed families, and raised dysfunctional children while I spend my life trying to be better than everyone around me. But alas, I found husband #4 who can keep me in cosmetic procedures, expensive clothes and lavish trips until I tire of him, find a side hustle, take half, keep whining about my horrible treatment, and move on again leaving broken people in my wake.

[Jennifer Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Such a sad and tragic way for a child to live through. The devastating repercussions of the impact of living in a home filled with pain and dysfunction. It's heartbreaking to read Diana's adult life, which was full of continued bad choices. I so wished she would have gotten therapy sooner so she could have stopped the cycle that then ended up hurting her own children. Was an easy read with her detailed thoughts.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I empathize with the author’s dysfunctional (her word) family, and I always love learning more about the inner workings of the LDS community, I found the story very depressing and the writing to be disjointed and poorly edited. Pretty much a 2.5.

[Paul Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most interesting personal memoir - can't put down fascinating and somewhat disturbing at the same time.

[Amyrasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF

[Emily Moench · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring

This is the most insightful book into the Mormon religion I have ever read. I recommend it to anyone grappling to make sense of their past.

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always find reading memoirs about dysfunctional families fascinating. This one didn't disappoint.

[Empress Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting memoir to say the least. I truly enjoyed this book; it was well-written, interesting, and moving. A good example of rising above circumstances to live a healthier, saner life than the one destiny tried to hand you.