Told through the "minutes" taken in secret meetings, this story tells of how eight Mennonite women make the biggest decision of their lives. For the past two years, each of these women and more than 100 other girls in their colony have been repeatedly violated in the night by "demons coming to punish them for their sins." In reality, there were no demons. Men from their colony were drugging and assaulting them. And now, these women are determined to protect themselves and their daughters from future harm. The question is: should they stay in the only world they've ever known or dare to leave?
This story is based on real events and is a powerful, moving novel. Admittedly, I found it hard to read at times because I found it difficult to get over what had happened to these women and girls. It's a slow read because of the way it's written and because I think there's a lot to contemplate in this story. I very much appreciate that the author took these events and gave a voice, even though it was through fiction, to these women. The different perspectives of the women are what give this story a lot of weight and even though they can be difficult to understand or identify with, and this is not an easy read, I think it's an important story.
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