"I told you mothers do not matter here. We are all your mothers. Isn't that better than just having one?"An ordinary weekend turns surreal when Celena's mother, whom she has not seen for years, returns to claim her. Told that she is going to visit a place called Synanon, six-year-old Celena leaves her native Los Angeles on a bus for a secluded ranch setting in Northern California where the residents are strangely bald and dressed uniformly in overalls.Comin...

A mundane morning turns surreal when Kimani Williams wakes up to inexplicable changes to her body. What’s more, her boyfriend seems surprised to see her.Something happened the night before that lurks at the periphery of her mind and the town that she knows and loves is different, the streets empty and devoid of life.A trip to the mall and retail therapy won’t fix the looming sense that nothing may ever be right again.It is only the odd little office next to the Hall...

After spending almost five years of her childhood in the Synanon cult, Celena's longtime wish to leave the commune is finally realized.Yet, Ideals of how and where to live clash within her small family. While Celena has developed a deep longing and desire for normalcy, to attend public school, and meld into the plainness of mainstream American life, her parents are on the hunt for the next utopia.Money is tight, and tempers are hot as she and her family try...