Idil's loathing for people in Cedar Springs was never silent or subtle; it was boisterous and to the point. She did not respect authority, elders or anyone else who tried to impose their morals on her. "Try it on yourself first before you preach it to me," she would say to anyone who hinted she change her ways. Idil was every Somali mother's nightmare. She was hard-hearted, outspoken and blatantly truthful to a point. Some women in the neighborhood would scorn her[;] others would spatter the spit of evil when they passed her. Idil was their consciousness, the echo to their facade lives. She outed their secret and dirty linens in ways they did not approve. The pressure society imposed on the mothers of Cedar Springs was downright cruel. Their misfit foreign life inflicted plenty of pressures. But they could only boast about two things since the rest of their lives were not at their helm: their home furniture, which they spent every last penny on, and their children. -- From "Nomad Diaries" by Yasmeen Maxamuud