"The book is ever compassionate and nonjudgmental toward those under the sway of cults...Why people stay in cults is considered with similar nuance and empathy...Intimate in portraying abuse, trauma, and motherhood, the narrative overflows with grief and loss."
-Foreword Reviews

"An urgent and beautiful story, told in braided timelines, of a mother and daughter, each fiercely loving and clear-eyed yet trapped by circumstances inside a cult controlled by a charismatic and dangerous leader. The genius of debut novelist Alexandria Faulkenbury is her ability to create a world that is both alluring and terrifying, and characters who are deeply dimensional and human. Somewhere Past the End is sure to hold you from the dark magic and mystery of its beginning passage to its spacious yet gratifying end. As for Teresa and Alice, they're yours now. They'll imbed themselves in your heart."

-Ona Gritz, award-winning author of Everywhere I Look

"Written with sureness and visceral emotion, Faulkenbury gives us a tense, close up view of the formation of a cult and one woman's courageous escape, all wrapped around a gripping mystery that will have you questioning what is real. Both a vivid page-turner, and a nuanced examination of human nature, Somewhere Past the End is a nourishing read. I highly recommend it."

-Sara Read, author of Johanna Porter is Not Sorry and Principles of (E)motion

"Faulkenbury's novel weaves together the stories of two women as they fall in and out of enthrallment with The Collective. Two questions drive the story: What is the Truth? and How did we end up like this? This novel explores the different ways that men control, how they prey on the vulnerable and keep them faithful. If you, like me, find yourself drawn to the stories cult members have to share, pull up a seat at Faulkenbury's Somewhere Past the End and get your fill."

-Shay Galloway, author, The Valley of Sage and Juniper