Where the Heart Is

When the novel begins, Novalee is seven months pregnant and only 17 years old. She grew up in foster homes after her biological mother left her when she was only seven. For this reason, Novalee is determined to be a good mother. She reads pregnancy magazines and attempts to prepare the best she can for when the baby comes. But after Willy Jack abandons her, Novalee struggles to figure out what her next steps should be. She shows her immaturity by remaining hidden in the Walmart and not attempting to find a job or a home. She never attempts to find community support. Instead, when she goes into labor, she does not even know what to expect despite preparing a delivery bag filled with items she never uses because the pain is too intense for her to go retrieve it.

Novalee’s mother, Momma Nell, abandoned her when she was seven, leaving to be with a man she barely remembers ten years later. Before that, Momma Nell forgot Novalee in a roller rink overnight. There were Christmases when Momma Nell left Novalee alone, including one holiday when the house flooded while Novalee was asleep upstairs. When Novalee gives birth to Americus in a Walmart and it hit the news, Momma Nell is suddenly inspired to be a mother again, visiting her daughter in the hospital and promising to put money down on a place they can live in together. Instead, Momma Nell steals Novalee’s money and abandons her a second time, showing Novalee’s naivete in believing her mother and the kind of world Novalee grew up in.

When Sister Husband and her neighbors take in Novalee and her daughter, they show by example how to be a good mother. Novalee has the best intentions and, with time, becomes exactly what she wished she could have had as a child. At the same time, Sister Husband, a woman with no children of her own, teaches Novalee what home is. She becomes a better mother to Novalee than her own mother ever was. After Sister Husband dies, Novalee is devastated, but she has the skills to continue to raise her daughter with the love, kindness, and support she deserved as a child.

Novalee and Sister Husband are not the only mothers in the novel. Lexie Coop began having children when she was 15 and raised them alone without support from her family or the fathers of her five children. Lexie, despite the lack of support, is a wonderful mother who raises happy, well-behaved children until tragedy strikes. Lexie’s only weakness is her desire to find a father for her children. To this end, she dates a multitude of men she hopes will be good role models for her kids, but one man takes advantage of her vulnerability and physically and sexually attacks her and her two oldest children. Devastated, Lexie takes the accountability of it all on her own shoulders. This shows the depth of Lexie’s feelings for her children and the strength of her sense of responsibility for her kids.

Each of the mothers in this novel struggle with maturity and face different problems in their lives. Sister Husband is an older woman with a difficult past. Embracing her higher power, she is a recovering alcoholic who spreads the word of God and helps other alcoholics through their recovery. Momma Nell is a selfish woman who acts in ways that only benefit her. Novalee is a young woman who lived an unstable life in which she was abandoned multiple times. She never had a steady home life or reliable parent figures until she arrived in Sequoyah. Despite this, Novalee falls easily into the role of mother and raises a bright, energetic child. Finally, Lexie is a happy, carefree woman who is naive when it comes to men but exceedingly loving and supportive to her five young children. Motherhood defines and shapes these women throughout the novel, as some grow and become better people while others never change.