Home: Zoe's fight for freedom

I just had to dive into Home by first-time Scottish author, Cailean Steed. I've always been interested in cults, how people get sucked into them, and the power wielded by their (usually male) leaders. Home is not a light read, but if you're interested in the subject matter, give it a go.

Home | Published January 2023 | Read July 2024

In Home, Zoe has escaped from the cult she was raised in and is working in a Dublin café. She leads a simple life, well supported by the woman who owns the café. Zoe's peaceful life is interrupted when she discovers that a man has broken into her flat. This man is someone she had tried so hard to escape from, the cult leader known as the Hand of God. He seems to know everything about Zoe and has obviously been creeping about watching her for some time.

The Hand of God shows Zoe a photo of her sister, Amy, and tells Zoe that Amy is in danger. Zoe returns to the isolated cult compound - Home - to rescue Amy who had helped her escape some years before. Zoe's decision to return sends her back to enforced worship and strict gender roles and to the abuse and indoctrination she's fought desperately to overcome.

I was super impressed with Home as a debut novel. I liked the way Steed jumped between the past and the present, showing how Zoe navigated her childhood within the strict confines of the cult world and then her path to freedom. Zoe's journey of growth as she learned to live outside the cult was beautifully portrayed. The book was dark and disturbing and I found the corruption and abuse and indoctrination of women and children in the cult hard to take at times. That said, there was an authenticity to the story that I connected with, and its message of hope and survival made the book rise above its bleak subject matter. Steed does a brilliant job of world-building and I felt completely immersed in the cult as I read the book.

Another interesting part of the book was its examination of manipulation within the psychology of cults. Steed demonstrated nuance in the relationships that were explored in the book and presented a fascinating account of how being singled out as The Chosen One can be weaponised. Without spoiling the ending, this weaponisation took a different turn as Zoe fought to rescue Amy and escape the cult for a second time.

Home is unsettling to say the least, but it's a gripping story of the dangers of religious extremism, corruption and abuse of power. It delves into the crushing of individual identities in cults, particularly through the subjugation of women. Identity is a strong theme throughout the book, and I was rooting for Zoe to find her way back the whole way through.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐