Julie Harmon is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. She is seventeen years old and in her first year of her marriage. She is doing all that she can to survive the harsh conditions of farm life on Gap Creek. When the novel opens, Julie has just witnessed her five-year-old brother die from a horrific case of stomach worms. Soon after, Julie nurses her father as he dies from chest consumption. Both deaths have a strong impact on Julie as she realizes life is fragile: the Lord gives and then the Lord takes away.
