Summary

The fourth section – “Asleep in the Lord” – takes place in India, where Mitchell was volunteering at the Home for Dying Destitutes in Calcutta that he had read about in a book about Mother Teresa.

Mitchell stayed at a hostel run by the Salvation Army and discussed different religious beliefs with the people he met there, none of whom Mitchell liked. On his third day in Calcutta, Mitchell visited a barber and cut off all of his hair. He bought himself an ostentatious crucifix from a jewelry store. He spoke with another volunteer at the home who was a beekeeper from New Mexico who brought his family to volunteer in India for a couple of weeks.

After volunteering for a week, Mitchell became uneasy with the knowledge that he was avoiding the more difficult and unpleasant tasks at the home while other...