Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of illness, child abuse, physical abuse, substance use, addiction, pregnancy loss, child death, graphic violence, and religious discrimination.

Lillian—Sissy’s mother—narrates the story of her own childhood, which takes place in the 1930s. Her earliest sense of self revolves around being told she was born with a hole in her heart. Later, the doctor tells her the hole has healed, but she doesn’t believe him. By age four, Lillian teaches herself to read with a book on child labor that a Wobbly—a member of the Industrial Workers of the World labor union—left as a parting gift after staying with them for a few weeks.

Lillian has two older sisters, Alvina and Blanche, and two younger brothers, Oscar and Teddy. The family has a pet magpie named Fairbanks that they teach to speak English words. Lillian refers to her mother, Cora, as Iná, but she only calls her father “him” or Jack. He becomes mean and abusive when he drinks, and Lillian and Blanche both fear and hate him. The two girls make a mud figure of their father in order to symbolically bury him so that their mother won’t have to endure endless pregnancies and miscarriages.