So Far from God

CH 1: We are introduced to the family on the night that the 3 year old daughter (who is later refered to as "La Loca") dies. At the Mass of the dead baby, the lid of the coffin opens and La Loca sits up. In front of the terrified witnesses, she rises into the air and lands on the church roof. La Loca says she has been to three places: hell, the purgatory, and heaven, where God sent her back to pray for all of them. The child is later diagnosed with epilepsy, but continues to grow and comes to be a very odd child. At this point, we learn about the history of Sofi's other daughters. Esperanza, the eldest, is the only one to have finished college and Esperanza works as a news broadcaster at the local television station. She returned home after breaking up with her live-in boyfriend, Rubén, who dumped Esperanza for a middle-class white girl. Caridad, the second daughter, got pregnant by and married her highschool Sweetheart the day after graduation. She eventually learns that Memo was still seeing his ex-girlfriend and Caridad moved back home. La Loca performs an abortion for Caridad, the marriage was annulled and the abortion was faked as a miscarriage. Caridad begins to have flings with random guys and winds up having two more abortions by La Loca.The third daughter, is the most steady daughter with a white fiancee named Tom & a steady job at the bank. Fe returns home from a wedding dress fitting to find a letter from Tom saying he isn't ready for marriage. Fe, shuts herself in the bathroom, begins to scream and does not stop for more than 10 days. Sofi goes over to Tom's house and tells the family abut Fe's screaming, but the mother is very defensive & Tom refuses to face Fe. Caraidad comes home one night bloodied and left by the road for dead, and Fe starts screaming again and that is when Sofi looses it. Esparanza gives her strength, but ultimately gets back together with ruben. Domingo, the girls' father returns and La Loca claims he has been in hell.

Ch 2:

Caridad takes her horse and moves to Albuquerque where she is monitored by a healer named Don a Felicia. Prior to going there, Caridad had been going in to trances where she could predict the future, all of which end up coming true. She eventually returns to her hospital job, but isn't the same as she once was she is just more emotionally removed however she is more dilegant. Her only friend is her horse, and is devastated to hear that the police found her horse by the side of the road with a broken hoof and shoot the animal to take it out of its misery. Although Caridad saw the death coming, she could't do anything to prevent it. She falls in to a deep sleep for 14 days.

Ch 3:

In Chapter 3, we learn more about Don a Felicia's past. She is described as being highly religious, but in her childhood as being non-religious because of the fact that despite everybody's faith her mother's life was still taken. When she did become faithful, she was guided by teachers she met as she traveled with her two infants. She becomes the caretaker of the House of God and began seeing God as a guiding light. She learns to read and wright in Spanish, french and English before being deported back to Mexico with her second husband (who dies from TB). She joins the army as a nurse, and marries a french solider who she discovers later is already married. We learn she has had 8 children between her 3 husbands & random hookups. Her 6 oldest grow up and find their own way. Her youngest son was found murdered in a river bank, and her youngest daughter was found raped and murdered at the age of 19. Caridad helps Don a Felicia as she is healed in the natural surroundings. Eventually Caridad's life becomes a very rhythmic serene routine full or rituals to cleanse her spirit.

Ch 4: 
In Ch 4, we see Caridad begin her first pilgrimage to build a house by The Sanctuary, Don a Felicia is leading the journey aside her godson Francisco. On Holy Friday, Caridad falls in love (for the first time since her highschool sweetheart) with a woman she sees. Then in the story enters a mysterious spirit that visits Caridad, Don a Felicia and La Loca in their dreams. Each time this spirit visits Don a Felicia or La Loca, they are scared mindless, but Caridad becomes stronger each time she sees it. It is through these dreams that Caridad begins to share what happened to her when she came home bloodied half to death. Caridad becomes obsessed with the woman she met, and proceeds to disappear for a year. Don a Felicia begins to search for Caridad through Tarrot cards, and Don Domingo (Caridad's father) begins his own search for her as do the police. When Sofi catches the news, she is upset beyond belief as Caridad and Esparanza are now both MIA. Fe is the only daughter that is still normal and not MIA, but due to her long periods of screaming her vocal chords are strongly damaged. One year after Caridad goes missing, she is accidentally found in a cave but hasn't changed clothes or seen another human in a full year. She becomes known as a hermit, and legendary stories of her "power" grow. Don a Felicia decides to go pick up Caridad, but she finds that Caridad has already gone to find a mineral bath. During this bath Caridad meets the woman she saw at the wall.

Ch 5:

In Ch 5, we are introduced more thoroughly to Francisco el Penitente. He is the 7th son of an oldest son. His mother and baby sister had smallpox when he was 6, and neither survived. He had a breif affair with a woman who convinced him to start college, but once she moved on to another man he quit school. He realizes his only true loves have been is deceased mom, his godmother, his family that was still alive and God. He becomes something of a saint and leads a solitude life.

Ch 6:

In ch 6, we learn more about Sofi's past. She met Domingo when she was 14, and her father refused to let her be with him but she was taken with him and couldn't stop thinking about him. At her Quinceanera she danced her entire night with Domingo, despite her father's disdain for the boy. Her family always thought he wasn't good enough for Sofi, but they eloped after she turned 18. He became involved in gambling and eventually sells all of Sofi's jewelry and the land her father gave them as a wedding gift. He runs away for their daughter's entire upbringings, but returned and was allowed in Sofi's house, although they never were close or in love. When Domingo returned, Sofi felt very insecure leaving her house because La Loca won't allow anybody but Sofi to come close...her only escape is the butcher shop she owns. Eventually she snaps at Domingo and rages at him