After her parents' divorce, seven-year-old Lisa's father convinces her to leave home in the middle of the night. After all, according to their radical religious beliefs, she belongs to him, and it is her duty to obey him. Ever the dutiful daughter—at least outwardly—and confused by the sinful changes in her mother, Lisa complies.
For the next nine years, Lisa and her father go from place to place—hiding out in a rural town populated by the cult, living on the streets, and preaching the Word. She is taught that her mother, who divorced her father and left the cult, is deemed "dead" by the Word's doctrine—a shell without a soul. The only school she's allowed to attend is one run by one of the cult's community leaders. They forbid reading books or watching television. She has to be small, quiet, and modest.
When the police finally catch up with them, Lisa returns to her mom's home in Oregon—a home with freedoms that Lisa has never really known. But her father has a plan to take back what's his—a plan that was set in motion the moment the police arrived at his home. Now Lisa must make a decision: follow the plan and go home with the hope that she'll see her father again, or risk everything to figure out what life could be when she makes her own choices.
I love a cult narrative. It's fascinating to me what people can be brought to believe. And yes, I know that cult is just what the big church calls the little church, but the religion featured here fits the popular image of what a cult is; people are isolated, women are oppressed, and it's based on a narrow reinterpretation of the Bible that somehow suits exactly what the founders want it to say.
The book moves back and forward in time, which I usually don't like but it worked well here. Lisa's confusion and isolation are really well described, along with her longing for home and for more than her upbringing tells her she's allowed to have. Reading about how hard she finds things in her mother's house was really poignant, and her struggle with her father's plan was well laid out. I could have done without the romance, it felt like a little bit too much, but that's just me.
A fascinating read, a really great look at cults, and I'll be watching out for more from Mary because I think she has a great future ahead.
The Word publishes on the 21st May, 2024. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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