The Vision, pp. 133-145<\/strong><\/p>\n Asher\u2019s trip to Thailand has been prolonged indefinitely, and Cheyenne is annoyed. To make matters worse, it has now been raining for days, and doesn\u2019t seem likely to let up.<\/p>\n Normally, Ben and Dusty would have brought a welcome distraction with their visits, but they were too busy to stop by the Herb Den. Yancey, however, was almost always available. He had visited almost every day that week.<\/p>\n Hormones, lovesickness, cabin fever, loneliness and a prying stranger: the Herb Den had become a powder keg of tension.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So \u2026 they\u2019re incapable of telling Yancey off, then.<\/p>\n Debi does at least finally give us a reason for this, putting the question in Magdalene\u2019s mouth:<\/p>\n \u201cI gotta say, can\u2019t figure out why all you guys put up with the jerk. I mean, it\u2019s obvious that Yancey grates on you guys, yet you all treat him like he\u2019s one of the gang. Why not just tell him to get lost?<\/p>\n Cheyenne smiled, but her eyes looked perplexed. She tapped her index finger against her lips as she considered her answer. \u201cWell, Mag girl \u2026 it\u2019s hard to explain. Let me put it this way. Tess was a real jerk when she first came here. Then God reached down and saved her. Now she\u2019s the kindest person I know. A lot of our best people around here once were lost and troublesome, yet when they came looking for answers we prayed for them and treated them as friends.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Okay, sure. But, first of all,\u00a0this is their place of work.\u00a0<\/em>Why not tell Yancey what time Bible studies are, or suggest he meet them for supper after work? Also, have they all collectively had this conversation and agreed that this is how they will handle strangers coming into their workplace? It seems unfair to ask anyone who\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0<\/em>agreed to this to put up with it,\u00a0while they are at work.\u00a0<\/em>And clearly,\u00a0Magdalene\u00a0<\/em>at least never signed on.<\/p>\n Also, have they still\u00a0<\/em>not tried asking him\u00a0why\u00a0<\/em>he\u2019s hanging around the Herb Den? Given their concern about spies looking into the Tree of Life berry brew formula, it\u2019s odd that they don\u2019t seem\u00a0at all\u00a0<\/em>suspicious.<\/p>\n It\u2019s weird! That\u2019s all I\u2019m saying!<\/p>\n That\u2019s not the only thing that\u2019s weird, though.<\/p>\n The Workplace Assault<\/strong><\/p>\n Bobbie Jo is telling a Bible story while they tape boxes of herbs for shipping.<\/p>\n \u201cThey yelled and laughed as she fell, splattering on the stones below. Just like God said, the hungry dogs ran in\u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Yes, that\u2019s right, my fellow Bible quizzers\u2014she\u2019s telling the story of Jezebel. That\u2019s an \u2026 interesting choice.<\/p>\n Magdalene interrupted impatiently. \u201cI said I am hungry<\/em>. I want to go eat, now<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cROHFF! ROHFF! ROHFF! GRRRRRR! ROHFF! ROHFF!\u201d Bobbie Jo grabbed Magdalene by her shoulders and began shaking her back and forth while barking and growling like a mad dog.<\/p>\n Magdalene looked like a limp, white headed rag doll in Bobbie Jo\u2019s hands. Julie squeaked with panic at the unexpected behavior.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Just so we\u2019re clear: I\u2019m not skipping any context. Magdalene interrupts to say she\u2019s hungry and wants to go to lunch\u2014the way she says this makes it sound like she\u2019s already said this at least once\u2014and Bobbie Jo grabs her and shakes her until she goes limp.<\/p>\n Magdalene\u00a0was a child sex worker.\u00a0<\/em>She\u2019s probably got\u00a0all sorts of\u00a0<\/em>triggers. She\u2019s likely no stranger to violence. Shaking\u00a0anyone\u00a0<\/em>until they go limp is completely<\/em>\u00a0inappropriate, but shaking someone\u00a0you know\u00a0<\/em>has been through serious trauma is even more so. This is just\u00a0so absurd.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Startled, Cheyenne rushed over to the work area to see what was happening. \u201cBobbie Jo, have you lost your mind?\u201d she exclaimed in shock. No one even noticed her rebuke.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n For a moment there, I almost forgot that this is also Magdalene\u2019s place of work.\u00a0<\/em>This isn\u2019t a situation Magdalene can just leave. She\u2019s stuck seeing Bobbie Jo every day, unless she quits her job. And it\u2019s not like there\u2019s an HR department she can go to, there\u2019s only Cheyenne. And Cheyenne isn\u2019t going to be any help.<\/p>\n Magdalene began to whimper. Bobbie Jo\u2019s voice remained gruff as she shoved the teenager to one side. \u201cDon\u2019t you ever<\/em> interrupt one of my stories again. I\u2019m through with your spoiled self-centeredness. Got it?\u201d<\/p>\n Magdalene silently nodded.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Bobbie Jo\u2019s belief that she should never, ever,\u00a0ever\u00a0<\/em>be interrupted\u00a0itself\u00a0<\/em>strikes me as self-centered. I get it, being interrupted can be very annoying\u2014but what the hell is<\/em> this?! I\u2019ve been interrupted\u00a0plenty\u00a0<\/em>of times and I\u2019ve never violently shaken the person interrupting me until they go limp to\u00a0show them.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n My sense is that this section gives us information on how Debi views relationships and human interaction. And it ain\u2019t pretty.<\/p>\n Cheyenne and Julie glanced at each other. They both now understood that what had just happened was crude but necessary. Without respect there could never be true friendship. From that moment forward Magdalene realized that either she would be one of them, do her share of the work and treat others with respect, or she was out. In a strange way, she immediately bonded with Bobbie Jo.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I. What.<\/p>\n Remember, this book is written by a woman who wrote a child training manual that advises parents that beating their children is a way to make their children love them. And that children who aren\u2019t<\/em> beaten never learn that their parents love them. That seems to be bleeding through into how Debi views\u00a0other\u00a0<\/em>relationships.<\/p>\n If Magdalene bonded with Bobbie Jo after Bobbie Jo violently shook her, shoved her, and yelled at her, it\u2019s some sort of weird trauma bonding. Note that Cheyenne, their boss, not only does nothing, she concludes that Bobbie Jo\u2019s workplace violence\u00a0against a minor\u00a0<\/em>is appropriate. Bobbie Jo, as we learn later, is 27. She\u2019s over a decade older than Magdalene. She ought to be the mature one. But no\u2014she\u2019s the one violently assaulting a teenager.<\/p>\n Also, this \u201cwithout respect there could never be true friendship\u201d bit only makes sense\u00a0if capricious violence breeds respect.\u00a0<\/em>I cannot see myself respecting someone who believes it it appropriate to assault a coworker in the workplace (or anywhere else, frankly). But again\u2014this idea that violence breeds respect is completely in line with the teachings in Debi\u2019s child rearing manual. While I worry about getting outside of my area of expertise, this approach to violence may also reflect a set of cultural norms in which differences are resolved through fist fights.<\/p>\n And remember\u2014Magdalene is a 16-year-old runaway who spent time on the streets. Cheyenne\u2019s family took her in and informed her that she was going to work at the Herb Den. She was never given a set of options. There has been no suggestion that she\u2019s being paid. No talk of setting up a bank account for her, or helping her work toward her GED. Magdalene lives with Cheyenne\u2019s family, and is being trafficked for her labor.<\/p>\n This sort of violence would not be okay between co-workers who are on a level playing field with each other. Bobbie Jo and Magdalene are not on a level playing field.<\/p>\n Just.\u00a0Ugh.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The Muslim Girl<\/strong><\/p>\n So, scene change. Sort of. A few days have gone by, but they\u2019re still at the Herb Den. Out of nowhere, Magdalene announces that she \u201cmet one of the young Muslim girls.\u201d The others immediately want to know what happened, so Magdalene explained:<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t anything. Her parents are the folks that bought Main Street Market. She was just sitting in the car parked in the back lot. Her head was leaning forward and with all that headgear on I couldn\u2019t tell if she was crying or what.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I knocked on the window it really scared her. She jumped like it was a gun going off. I asked her if she was okay. Turns out she was playing a game on one of those new phones that have internet. She showed me her game and we just talked a while. I showed her our newest website with\u00a0God\u2019s Story\u00a0<\/em>on it and told her to read it sometime.<\/p>\n \u201cShe seemed like just a regular person, so I told her where I worked and that she was welcome any time to visit us. She said thanks. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This nameless girl appears to be about the same age as Magdalene. Even though she comes up multiple times in this book, she is never given a name.\u00a0<\/em>Would Magdalene not have asked that? Seriously? I\u2019m going to call her Noura.<\/p>\n The unacknowledged piece is that Noura actually has more access to people and information than Magdalene does. The Herb Den bunch are talking about Noura as though she\u2019s isolated and potentially being harmed, when in fact Noura goes to high school and has a smart phone, while Magdalene<\/em> doesn\u2019t go to high school\u2014doesn\u2019t have access to people or friends \u201coff the compound\u201d\u2014and doesn\u2019t appear to even have a regular cell phone.<\/p>\n The only reason this interaction is treated as special and out of the ordinary is that Magdalene is being isolated.\u00a0<\/em>If Magdalene did go to high school, she\u2019d probably run into Noura regularly. (The book never states that Noura attends high school, but it also never states that she doesn\u2019t. I\u2019ve chosen to assume Noura is attending high school because immigrant children in Noura\u2019s position generally do attend high school. In absence of any other information, that seems like the best assumption. Also, she has a smartphone.)<\/p>\n You know what else is interesting? We were told that Asher was creating the\u00a0God\u2019s Story\u00a0<\/em>website and that it wasn\u2019t ready yet, and since then Asher has been in Thailand. Maybe he finished it there, working remotely? This book just has so many weird hanging threads like this it\u2019s driving me nuts.<\/p>\n They all get nervous about Muslims suddenly, and start thinking about the car that was following them, which they haven\u2019t seen in a while. Debi writes that, in an effort to relieve the tension, Bobbie Jo \u201cpulled the hem of her loose Thai fisherman\u2019s pants up and removed her Charter Arms stub-nosed .38 pistol from its ankle holster.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe the reason we haven\u2019t seen old rag-head is because he heard me through his listening device talking about my shootin\u2019 iron and how I\u2019m not afraid to use it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The casual racism in here is just so\u00a0constant.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI doubt that,\u201d Magdalene says, and they all shiver in fear. \u201cIf he wanted them, he knew where to find them,\u201d Debi writes. Remind me again why this herb packing operation doesn\u2019t take place on the The Last Publishers compound like the rest of the organization\u2019s work?<\/p>\n Truth or Dare<\/strong><\/p>\n Is it just me, or do these two statements, coming two pages apart and with no page break, seem odd? Here\u2019s the first one, from Cheyenne:<\/p>\n \u201cI am sick to death of working. These twelve hour work days are just wearisome. I wish Asher would come home,\u00a0today!<\/em>\u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And here\u2019s the second:<\/p>\n Cheyenne stood and clapped her hands together, breaking the mood. \u201cAll right! Why don\u2019t we play Truth or Dare for a few minutes to lighten the mood?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I mean, maybe<\/em> this is normal? Twelve hours\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>a long time. And if the boss proposes playing truth or dare, I don\u2019t think the employees have much of a choice. This workplace breaks\u00a0so many\u00a0<\/em>rules.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Why is a minor child working 12-hour days? Even if she\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>getting paid\u2014and I don\u2019t think she is\u2014this is violating\u00a0so many\u00a0<\/em>labor laws. Frankly, Magdalene should be in school!<\/p>\n So. Truth or dare. Magdalene asks Cheyenne whether Asher is a good kisser, and everyone is all sorts of upset\u00a0<\/em>that Magdalene would\u00a0dare\u00a0<\/em>think that Cheyenne had\u00a0kissed\u00a0<\/em>Asher. The horrors! They\u2019re Very Upset.\u00a0\u201cOkay, you prudes!\u201d Magdalene finally exclaims, trying to move on. \u201cDare me or ask a question. I\u2019ll do anything, or I\u2019ll tell all.\u201d<\/p>\n Bobbie Jo turned and slowly walked back around the end of the couch. She folded her arms and stood with her hip to one side. Staring down at Magdalene speculatively, she ventured, \u201cOkay, Kid, truth. You\u2019ve dodged telling us anything about your life ever since you came here. It\u2019s time you tell us where you came from and how you came to be on the side of the road when Omar found you last month. Tell us everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Magdalene\u2019s small, pale face looked vulnerable, but her voice sounded practiced. \u201cI don\u2019t care. I\u2019ll tell you. It ain\u2019t so interesting anyway.\u201d Then she rushed ahead with her prepared story. \u201cWell, I already told Cheyenne that I was kicked out of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShut up!\u201d Bobbie Jo roared. \u201cThis is Truth or Dare \u2026 I dare you to tell the truth for a change.\u201d She glared at Magdalene.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I\u2019ll<\/em> tell you what this is. It\u2019s an abusive workplace environment.<\/p>\n Magdalene tells them that one day, while doing sex work in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, she was picked up by a short, fat guy who drugged her and then drive her into the middle of the woods. \u201cHe kept drinking out of a bottle he kept in the car,\u201d she says. \u201cHe called it a tonic or something and said it would make him my superman.\u201d<\/p>\n This is such odd storytelling. We\u2019re meant to realize that this is Derek, because he stole the last gallon of the Tree of Life berry brew from the basement at The Last Publishers. But no one clues into this at all, or ever mentions it again. It\u2019s only in there for us, the readers\u2014so that we can have an aha moment.<\/p>\n Why exactly was Derek in Winston-Salem, though? Our lovely case of characters lives somewhere in East Tennessee. Sure, it\u2019s not that far away \u2026 but having Derek be randomly in a city hundreds of miles away seems odd. I just checked; No Greater Joy is located in Pleasantville. That\u2019s\u00a0500 miles\u00a0<\/em>from Winston-Salem.<\/p>\n Anyway, I\u2019ll summarize. Derek drives her into the middle of the woods, builds a fire, and tries to brand her with a hot iron. She still has a scar. Then he suddenly starts vomiting and becomes violently ill. He leaves on a motorbike. She has no idea where he left the car or how he got her to the woods (on the motorbike?), because she was out cold until he woke her up by trying to brand her.<\/p>\n Once she realizes he\u2019s really gone, she gets the lighter she stole from his car out of her backpack and starts a fire. She sharpens sticks on rocks so that she\u2019s prepared to fight him if he comes back. I\u2019m not sure how she thinks that\u2019ll work; he\u2019s short, but he\u2019s fat (she says 250 pounds), and she\u2019s both short and<\/em> diminutive (child-like).<\/p>\n Throughout this, we get weird things like this:<\/p>\n \u201cI sure was glad I had taken a lighter from his car \u2026 I fished it out of my backpack and used it to start a fire to keep warm. Can you believe the jerk was so eager to fry me that he didn\u2019t even take my backpack off? Good thing, though.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n That last bit sounds like it was added to explain how she had her backpack, but it\u2019s so unnecessary. It adds another element (imagining her being branded\u00a0with her backpack on<\/em>) that isn\u2019t necessary, and that serves no purpose. There\u2019s no she couldn\u2019t just look around and notice her backpack laying nearby. Also, was she wearing her backpack on her back when she was in the car with Derek, when she lost consciousness due to him drugging her drink? Wearing your backpack\u00a0in a car\u00a0<\/em>is super uncomfortable. Wouldn\u2019t she have had it in her lap? In which case, did Derek later put her backpack\u00a0on her,\u00a0<\/em>while she was unconscious? You see what I mean! This doesn\u2019t add anything except confusion, and\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>it adds in spades.<\/p>\n Magdalene says he never came back. There was a cabin by where she was, with a bunch of what looked like shallow graves out behind it, which creeped her out. The girls start asking about the man who kidnapped her. They ask her to describe him, which she does, and they immediately guess that it\u2019s Derek. To be fair, she does describe his car\u2014but frankly, ten-year-old gray-blue two door Cavaliers can\u2019t be that<\/em> uncommon.<\/p>\n She explains that she remembers all of this because she and her siblings made a game of remembering details about people when she was growing up. Then she added that on the street, the other girls all told her to \u201cremember your man because it\u2019s the only way to survive.\u201d Debi only needed to include\u00a0one\u00a0<\/em>of these explanations, not both.<\/p>\n Once Cheyenne, Bobbie, and Julie guess\u2014in unison<\/em>\u2014that the man who kidnapped Magdalene was Derek, Magdalene suddenly recalls going through the papers in his glove compartment while he was getting food and seeing his name on his insurance papers. She says his name was Derek\u2014Derek Rogers.<\/p>\n This whole section is so weird.<\/p>\n Magdalene says she lived in the old cabin for three months. She says she ate Y2K rations she found in five gallon buckets. She says it was gross.<\/p>\n Magdalene emphasized her disgust by doing her favorite gag trick, sticking her finger down her throat. That set all the girls into movement at once to avoid any potential splashing.<\/p>\n Bobbie Jo warned, \u201cYou do that again, and we are going to hold you down and feed you dog food! You are so gross. Now finish your story.\u201d<\/p>\n Magdalene smiled at Bobbie Jo\u2019s interest. She was relieved that they hadn\u2019t rejected her.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WTF. This is so sad.<\/p>\n Anyway, Magdalene says that when the food ran out, the weather was also getting warmer, so she was able to float down the river until she reached a bridge, and then start hitchhiking\u2014which is how she met Omar.<\/p>\n This book is just so bad. For example:<\/p>\n \u201cAnyway, I lived off that stuff and slept in the sleeping back that pervert Derek left behind. Thankfully he was too sick to gather his belongings before he left.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And then, later:<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t swim too good, so I had to float hanging on to an inflatable mattress that I found in the cabin.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n