Summary

Sarah Broom describes satellite images of 4121 Wilson Avenue, the address of the Yellow House where she grew up in New Orleans East. Her brother Carl spends a lot of time on that now empty lot. Sarah has a collection of books on the history of New Orleans but they rarely mention New Orleans East, if at all. Maps of New Orleans highlight the French Quarter and often don't include New Orleans East. Sarah describes the route to where she grew up: the house her mother bought in 1961 where she and her eleven siblings spent their childhoods.

Analysis

This prologue connects the themes of home and place by positioning the Yellow House within the surrounding context of the city with Sarah's description of maps and satellite images. New Orleans East is also connected to the theme of memory and history when she notes that it...