Content Warning: This section of the guide describes the novel’s treatment of substance misuse disorders, mental health conditions, death by suicide, child abuse, domestic abuse, and racism.

Sidda Walker is now an adult, and the novel begins with one of her childhood memories: She is six years old. Her father is shooting doves with his friends at their cotton plantation in Louisiana, in 1959, while Sidda’s mother, Vivi, sits inside with her best friends, playing poker. The group calls themselves “the Ya-Yas” and refer to their children as “Petites Ya-Yas.” Their motto is: “Smoke, Drink, Never Think” (XI), a line from a Billie Holiday song. That night, Sidda wakes from a bad dream and goes to her mother’s bedroom; but Vivi is too inebriated to even stir. Sidda walks outside in the moonlight and looks up to see the Virgin Mary sitting on the moon, waving down at her. Sidda feels loved, if only for a moment.

Sidda is 40 years old and is an acclaimed director of feminist plays in New York. She is also engaged to a man she loves named Connor. During an interview for the New York Times, Sidda is manipulated into revealing too much about her childhood.