Gather the Daughters: A Novel

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Wait for them to be old enough to understand,” yawns Mary, “and they’ll be adults. And then you can’t do anything.”

I reached out to Ms. Melamed and asked if she’d be willing to discuss the book.* She graciously said yes. In short, Gather the Daughters is an unforgettable book – but not in a good way; I consequently don't feel I can recommend it to a broad audience." - Kim Kovacs Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.Gather the Daughters is a haunting tale of a society where women are controlled but children are free, and a young woman on the cusp of that transition discovers something that pulls her ideological foundations out from under her. It’s perhaps not for the faint of heart, but will definitely appeal to fans of engrossing dystopian fiction that lingers in the memory. Rosie (9yo) doesn't get her own chapters, but she's such a memorable character. She's headstrong and full of righteous rage.

SA: Was the virus that occurred towards the end of the book actually purposefully released by the men in the village? Later on, in graduate school, I read an anthropological paper on corporal discipline in different societies. The theory of the paper was that warlike societies punished children violently, and this in itself made them both more violent and more suited to a life where physical combat was probable. What I considered child abuse was in fact preparation for a life I could barely imagine. The girls won over my heart completely. They have little control over their lives or bodies, but the cult can't control every aspect of their thoughts. Some of them are more rebellious than others, but even those that are reluctant to challenge the system still find their own quiet ways to rebel. In one touching chapter, the girls imagined the types of islands that might be out there. Their visions reflected what bothered them most about their society. There are four girls we get to spend the most time with: Thoughts become words,” Caitlin quotes from Our Book. “Words become actions, actions become habits. Tend to your thoughts, lest you find yourself fighting for something you never really believed in.”(c) The author Jennie Melamed is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who specializes in working with traumatized children. She explains her motivations for writing this book in the following article: Exploring a Cultish Culture: the behind-the-book story of Gather the Daughters (excerpt included). How does something horrific become an accepted part of a society? This book is an interesting exploration into the way cults operate and their methods of indoctrination. It also made me think about what parts of our own society are widely accepted but may be disturbing with some distance. The one thing I didn't love is that the ending. It left me a little wanting. It's a perfectly fine quiet ending, but I was left with so many questions. I can't help but hope we get another installment. Nevertheless, I'll be looking forward to reading anything Jennie Melamed publishes in the future.

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The silence this time is full of doubt. “But,” says Fiona, “what about the ancestors?” “What about them?” demands Janey. “Well,” says Fiona, as if explaining something to a very small child,

On a small isolated island, there’s a community that lives by its own rules. Boys grow up knowing they will one day take charge, while girls know they will be married and pregnant within moments of hitting womanhood. This book has references to child abuse and incest. While it is not overly graphic and a lot of the abuse is implied, it is an integral part of the story line. This can make this book tough to read at times... Caitlin thinks of another island, perhaps with a similar church, perhaps with a red-haired girl admonishing the others at midnight. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . .Jennie: It would probably be that even the most oppressed or abused children still have joys and hopes and desires- that they’re still children, and not just the victims of abuse. The light we all love that shines in children continues to shine. When we make them only the passive recipient of abuse, we in a sense dehumanize them. I’m not saying for an instant that abuse doesn’t massively shadow a child’s life, but it doesn’t- at least in my experience- blot that light out. There’s Janey who refuses to eat so that she will not get her period, even at age 16. As long as she does not bleed, she doesn’t have to join the older women in their servitude. In the midst of it all, a handful of girls have the wherewithal to question it all, and those who don’t suddenly disappear for speaking out band together to find answers… Now the pastor is talking about women, which as far as Vanessa can tell is his favorite subject. It gets him more worked up than anything. She pictures him striding about in his bedroom at night, lambasting his wife when all she wants to do is go to sleep. (c)

wait here for a while and then leave if nothing happens.” “My toes feel like they’re going to fall off,” says Violet Balthazar. “We can throw them down the stairs for the monster,” giggles

Dabney: Did you think specifically about the religious symbolism of Janey and Mary? Janey as the Christ-like sacrifice and Mary as, well, Mary?