Why would you read this book?

Well, besides the fact that it’s a good story, it’s got realistic characters, and some pretty funny lines (if I may say so myself)?

Right, besides that. The novel isn’t just entertainment, nor is it revenge for the hurts of my past. I wrote it to answer some of the questions that all of us from this background encounter all too often.

It was already in the final stages of editing when Josh Duggar from “19 Kids and Counting” turned up as having serious sexual issues underneath the respectable clothes and boyish face. Those of us who knew how he grew up weren’t really surprised, but a lot of others were. And we started hearing those questions from a much wider audience.

They run along these lines:

• Why do people get involved in cults?
• Why do people stay once they realize something is wrong?
• What’s wrong with a woman wanting to be “just” a wife and mother? Look at [fill in blank of wife of patriarchal figure]. She’s obviously happy!
• Why won’t a woman in a system like that leave her cheating or abusive husband?
• Why can’t they move on from the spiritual abuse? Can’t they “eat the meat and spit out the bones”? Why do they always try to throw the baby out with the bathwater?

The Fellowship attempts to answer these questions. The story shows the effect that an authoritarian culture has on its members — and how the system is designed to protect itself at the expense of anything (or anyone) else.

Of course, one novel can’t fully answer all these questions. My own experience is far too limited to do them justice. I chose to illuminate what it’s like to be part of an almost-normal cult. No dark rituals or demonic encounters. Just your basic selfish, abusive humans. Just an angry, distant deity ready to punish you if you step out of line.

So if you’ve ever asked any of those questions, or ever tried to answer them… well, there you go. That’s why you’d read this book.

And there are some good lines in it, too.

******

The Fellowship will be released on November 13. Click on the title to preorder your copy!