Preparation For The Next Life

Part 2 begins with the introduction of a character named Jimmy, Mrs. Murphy’s son. As a young man, Jimmy discovered one day at school that his last name is Turner and not Murphy; Patrick, Mrs. Murphy’s husband, is his stepfather and Erin is his half-sister. Jimmy told Mrs. Murphy that he wanted to meet his biological father, who was incarcerated, and Mrs. Murphy refused to take him. She pointed to various parts of her body that had previously been injured and said that his father had caused these injuries. Jimmy suspected that the injuries were really from Patrick, whom he’d seen physically abusing her during an argument.

Erin is Mrs. Murphy’s daughter, a practicing Wiccan with dreams of attending art school. She reveals that she has attempted suicide in the past and believes in another dimension. Patrick, her biological father, is physically abusive, and Erin avoids him constantly. However, the domestic violence that occurs regularly between her mother and father takes a large toll on her mental health and fuels her desire to leave.

While she was in high school, Erin’s older brother Jimmy was accused of sexually assaulting one of Erin’s friends. Erin believes that the girl was lying, and after news of the sexual assault spread through the community, Erin found herself socially isolated.