This was the first of what will certainly be many books by Octavia E. Butler in my TBR list. My copy (2019 reissue with great foreword by NK Jemisin) was a gift from @leahlove@mastodon.world and I thank her for it!

Like Jemisin, I'm sure this book will mean different things to me each time I read it, but two things fascinated me on this read. First, the view of a belief system at its origin reminds us that before such beliefs are collective or cultural, they are individual. Ultimately, their essence and purpose is to help each of us make sense of the world, so in truth, there are as many religions or belief systems as there are people (and probably more, in truth).

Second, I love that Butler endowed the protagonist with a quality that could be a superpower or could be a disability. Through Lauren, Butler explores with us how it can be both -- which can lead us to reflect on other qualities (in ourselves and others) that we assume to be one or the other.