Point Clear, Alabama

Situated on the coast of Mobile Bay, Point Clear is Sookie’s longtime hometown, though she lived in Selma as a girl. The novel presents Point Clear as a quaint community, steeped in Southern culture and history, but it also has a small town feel where people know other people’s business. In order to explore her identity, Sookie branches out from the charming but sometimes stifling environment of Point Clear, traveling to out-of-state locales such as Solvang, California; Pulaski, Wisconsin; and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Pulaski, Wisconsin

Pulaski is a small village in eastern Wisconsin, about 30 miles north of Green Bay. While working a job laying railroad tracks, Stanislaw moved to Pulaski in 1916. After meeting his wife there, he stayed to build his family, home, and business. In the novel, Pulaski’s atmosphere contains a strong mix of American Midwest grit and Polish heritage, with much...