Where the Heart Is
by Billie Letts
Do you know where the heart is?
About the Book
In August 17th, 1995, Billie Letts released her most famous book, Where the Heart Is. Letts takes you on a journey with the abandoned, young, and pregnant Novalee Nation, and how she struggled living in a Wal-mart in Oklahoma after her boyfriend Willy Jack took off and left her behind. Along with living in Wal-Mart, Novalee gave birth to her daughter, Americus, on the Wal-Mart store floor. But Novalee was not alone. She was soon taken in by Sister Thelma Husband, who she had met on her first day at being at Walmart, and Novalee has a new admirer she met at the library, Forney Hull, who loves Novalee more than she would ever possibly love herself.
¨Trust the Lord, everything would work out.¨
This quote represents the importance of faith that Novalee herself grows to find throughout her adventurous journey. With faith, hard work, and dedication, Novalee was able to get back on track and get a job to provide for her daughter and herself.
The Movie
After successfully being #1 New York Times bestseller, Where the Heart is, was turned into a movie in 2000 with Natalie Portman as Novalee, Mackenzie Fitzgerald as Americus Nation, James Frain as Forney Hull, Stockard Channing as Sister Husband, Dylan Bruno as Willy Jack, and Keith David as Moses Whitecotton. Director Matt Williams worked very hard on the movie and his hard work paid off when the hit movie received many positive feedback.