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Little Altars Everywhere

by Rebecca Wells (Goodreads Author)

3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 · rating details · 19,039 ratings · 669 reviews

We are swinging high flying way up, higher than in real life. And when I look down, I see all the ordinary stuff--our brick house, the porch the tool shed, the oil drum barbecue pit, the clothesline, the chinaberry tree. But they are all lit up from inside so their everyday selves have holy sparks in them, and if only people could see those sparks, they'd go and kneel in f...more We are swinging high flying way up, higher than in real life. And when I look down, I see all the ordinary stuff--our brick house, the porch the tool shed, the oil drum barbecue pit, the clothesline, the chinaberry tree. But they are all lit up from inside so their everyday selves have holy sparks in them, and if only people could see those sparks, they'd go and kneel in front of them and pray and just feel good. Somehow the whole world looks like little altars everywhere." "Little Altars Everywhere" is a companion to Rebecca Wells' celebrated novel "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." Originally published in 1992, "Little Altars" introduces Sidda, Vivi, the rest of the spirited walker clan, and the indomitable Ya-Yas. It is now available for the first time in hardcover.

Told in alternating voices of Vivi and her husband, Big Shep, along with Sidda, her siblings Little Shep, Lulu, Baylor, and Cheney and Willetta--the black couple who impact the Walkers' lives in ways they never fully comprehend-- "Little Altars" embraces nearly 30 years of life on the plantation in Thorton, Louisiana, where the cloying air of the bayou and a web of family secrets at once shelter, trap and define an utterly original community of souls. Who can resist such cadences of Sidda Walker and her flamboyant, secretive mother, ViVi? Here the young Sidda--a precocious reader and an eloquent observer of the fault lines that divide her family--leads us on a mischievous adventures at Our Lady of Divine Compassion parochial school and beyond. A Catholic girl of pristine manners, devotion, and provocative ideas, Sidda is the very essence of childhood sorrow and joy and sorrow.

In a series ofLuminous reminiscences, we also hear Little Shep's stories of his eccentric grandmother, Lulu's matter-of-fact account of her shoplifting skills, and Baylor's memories of Vivi and her friends, the Ya-Yas.

Beneath the humor and tight-knit bonds of family and friendship lie the undercurrents of alcoholism, abuse, and violence. The overlapping recollections of how the Walkers' charming life uncoils to convey their heart-breaking confusion are oat once unsettling and familiar. Wells creates an unforgettable portrait of the eccentric cast of characters and exposes their poignant and funny attempts to keep reality at arm's length. Through our laughter we feel their inevitable pain, with a glimmer of hope for forgiveness and healing. An arresting combination of colloquialism, poetry, and grace "Little Altars Everywhere" is an insightful, piercing and unflinching evocation of childhood, a loving tribute to the transformative power of faith, and thoroughly fresh chronicle of a family that is as haunted as it is blessed.(less)

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Published (first published January 1st 1992)

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Sep 15, 2007 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit

I think one of the reasons I like this book is because it provides a sense of realism compared to the fluff in the YaYa book. For all those women that believe they are only capable of mentally digesting useless chick lit, and they blindly read books by their favorite chick lit authors-I'm sure they hated this book with a passion. Our world is not a Disney cartoon, and there are plenty of people that have addictions, and that consciously emotionally/physically/sexually exploit and abuse others. T...more

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May 01, 2012 Marvin added it · review of another edition

Recommended to Marvin by: Shirley's Book club pick for May.

Shelves: the-good-old-college-try

After 100 pages I had to give up on this. Maybe I have a beef with stories about dysfunctional Southern families. No, that's not true. I love Flannery O'Connor. And anyone who perused my book list knows I do not shy away from the darker aspects of life...or from very dark comedies, which I think this is trying to be. Yet Wells seems to think there is something warm and funny about abuse and molestation. The scatter-shot styling of writing and alternating viewpoints dd not help at all to bring an...more

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Jun 09, 2011 Vanessa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011

I almost want to say there is something Proustian about this novel except while I don't fear intellectual eye-rolling over my calling a popular novel written by and about southern women Proustian, I do fear eye-rolling over not quite correct use of the word. What I mean, then, is reading this novel was a gorgeously vivid sensory experience. When the Walker kids went to swim in the pond, I saw and felt and smelled it like I was in that same summertime water. I felt the cool concrete floors of the...more I almost want to say there is something Proustian about this novel except while I don't fear intellectual eye-rolling over my calling a popular novel written by and about southern women Proustian, I do fear eye-rolling over not quite correct use of the word. What I mean, then, is reading this novel was a gorgeously vivid sensory experience. When the Walker kids went to swim in the pond, I saw and felt and smelled it like I was in that same summertime water. I felt the cool concrete floors of the grocery store beneath my 10 year old feet. I experienced the vertiginous but exhilarating displacement of wandering through the house of a dimly known adult my parents were visiting looking for food, places to play, and random objects to pick up and examine all the while wondering, "Am I allowed to be in this room?"

All of this sensory overload sits on the surface of this loose collection of stories about the Walker clan of Thornton, Louisiana (a prequel of sorts to Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood however they can be read in any order.) However, as you read you begin to see the darkness below the surface troubling the waters. Siddha is oddly obsessed with religion and suffering. Lulu pulls out her hair and eats it. Baylor has trouble chewing and swallowing his food. Their mother, Vivi, sure drinks a lot and by the first time someone mentions her hands shaking in the morning, you know. As the story flashes forward midway through from the 60's to the 90's and expands to include the Walker's hired help, the picture grows clearer and darker. And yet even as unlikable as some characters in the book are, you still feel empathy for them even when you can't forgive their behavior. As a case in point, the final story narrated by Vivi, "Looking for My Mules", made me connect and feel sorry for her even when I should have been saying, "Bitch you brought this on yourself." There's a lot of deceptive depth to this kind of writing. And the story is really about much more than just one family's troubles: small town politics, the death of the rural way of life, war, the burden of secrets.

The final chapter belongs to Siddha and is a great way to wrap up the story although I wanted to keep going (too bad the reviews of YaYa's in Bloom are all so negative.) Don't hit the baby. Fine advice, indeed. (less)

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Jun 08, 2008 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Told by all the different voices of this wonderfully witty, funny and troubled southern clan, this was the pre-quel to the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. It's a book essentally about relationships. If you fell in love with the Ya Yas like I did, you will appreciate getting to know them better in their younger years and gaining an even better understanding of their undying loyalty. If you appreciated Sidda's dry sarcasm as an adult like I did, then you will enjoy all the little things th...more

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May 04, 2013 Lucy Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gave-up

I started reading this because a friend gave it to me, along with many other books she wanted to get rid of, and the premise appealed to me. I made it as far as page 80 before throwing in the towel on this book. For starters, the ever-switching narratives was hard to get used to. Not a big deal, in itself, but in top of that, each chapter, regardless of who is telling the story, is like listening to a stream of conscious from a person who tells the most boring stories, without any attempt at mak...more

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May 17, 2012 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Little Altars Everywhere is one of my favorite books of all-time. As a Southern girl, some of the stories reminded me of my own childhood and the childhoods of my parents and grandparents. It reminds me of growing up in a small farm town, and playing in the fields. However, it is Rebecca Wells sumptuous writing that kept me coming back for more. She knew just how to describe things so that you felt that you were right there. You could see, hear, feel, and smell everything.

I loved how each story...more

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Dec 08, 2011 MJ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After having seen "Divine Secrets..." countless times, I picked up this and Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood months or even years ago at a thrift shop.

This first book by Wells is reminiscent, to me, of Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver in that each chapter is told from a different character's point of view. If you've seen the movie, most of the tales recounted by each of the 4 children, Wiletta, Vivi, and Shep are familiar. If I hadn't seen the movie, though, I think I would feel as i

...more

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May 28, 2011 Tiffany rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A prequel to the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, this novel is a portrait of Siddalee Walker's childhood upbringing in a dysfunctional family. The novel is told from multiple different perspectives, including Sidda, her father, sister, brothers, and hired help. Rebecca Wells is a great story-teller for sure, and it was easy for me to slip into the emotional world of this novel. Having the novel told from different perspectives was also interesting, as it presented the secrets within the...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Stevie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Consider this a review of all three of the Ya-ya books because what I have to say about this one can't be said without referencing (without spoilers, of course) the other two.

These books are going to be love/hate for everybody who touches them. So let's get the good out of the way: some people say this series sucks because it's another quirky my-dysfunctional-family series and really, that's misleading. The movie made it into that, sure, but these books are a lot deeper than that. Wells writes...more Consider this a review of all three of the Ya-ya books because what I have to say about this one can't be said without referencing (without spoilers, of course) the other two.

These books are going to be love/hate for everybody who touches them. So let's get the good out of the way: some people say this series sucks because it's another quirky my-dysfunctional-family series and really, that's misleading. The movie made it into that, sure, but these books are a lot deeper than that. Wells writes characters as people. In one story, the characters are delightfully gray. I mean in one story, all of the characters will be right and wrong simultaneously, caring and aloof, vindicated and unquestionably unforgivable. By writing characters this way, you really get a fuller narrative. These characters could easily be people you know, maybe even people you've met before. And the range of characters and narrations is a delight. Also, I love how well connected all the books are. You learn one detail from a story and it pops up in other stories, from the point of view of others or as a reference or an example. You see these characters from 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person, with different people taking on different roles and evolving (for many of them) from childhood to adulthood. My favorite example of this is Mr. Ogden who is an often mentioned character (the least "fun" of the husbands). He starts as a reference, even sometimes as a stereotypical stuck-up older white man, but by book three, we see him as a fearful grandfather, a protective father, and a vulnerable man all in one story. It's a great evolution and it's nice to see characters written this way in short story format.

The major problem that readers will face is a difficult one. All people triggered by child abuse or alcoholism, stay away. Do not even bother with this. And that is part of the problem. In Little Altars Everywhere, we find out that Vivian abuses her children above and beyond "hey, it's the 1960s and everybody hits children as a form of discipline". If you've seen the movie, it is much worse in the book and, in one story, we find out as an audience that Vivian sexually abused one of her children, the extent of which is vague. This issue is never brought up again. Ever. It's in one story from one of her children's point of view and while the story is well written and deals with the honest truth of coming from an abusive home and being unsure of one's body and one's boundaries with others, that's it. One well written story and done. It's never mentioned again in any of the other books. So you, as a reader, see so much about how Vivian has suffered and how she gets into crazy escapades with her girlfriends...all while knowing that she's a child molester and a child beater. And the main book (the one the movie is based on) takes a sinister feel to it when you realize that the Ya-Yas are trying to fix a relationship between a woman and her mother who abused her. Do they excuse her behavior? Yes and no at the same time and it's uncomfortable. But through this exploration of Vivian, we see the cycle of abuse and how it continues from one generation to the next. So many people gush about Vivi as if she is the most awesome thing ever and I think the movie is slightly to blame for that because when you hear her mother's back story and see what happens with her children, it's really hard to sit through her stories. It's hard to empathize with her and it does color many of the stories from her point of view.

Does she have a tragic back story that causes everything? Yes and it is heartbreaking to watch how she is nearly broken over and over again. But does it take away from her unapologetic attitude about the abuse? Why does Siddalee need to have her relationship mended with her mother? Why don't her siblings have a similar experience? It puts a sour taste in your mouth and that might be too much for some readers.

Also, I'm really not sure how to feel about this but there are at least two (I might be remembering wrong) stories from the point of view of the Walkers' black maid and handyman. Their stories, while a more honest portrayal of black people than you usually get from Southern literature, are still hard to deal with without getting headaches at the stereotypes that Wells doesn't break. I think they're worth reading but bear that in mind, POCs. It's not THE HELP but it's not BELOVED either, okay?

I personally like these books because of the development of character and setting, not for the happy fun joy ride with kooky characters that some proclaim that it is. I like it because it's realistic and every happy ending has a black lining through it. If you're curious, check it out but I really cannot stress enough that you go into this series knowing what you're in for. (less)

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Oct 16, 2011 Elaine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rebecca Wells presents these anecdotal chapters using the voices of the children of one of the ya-yas in this the earlier before the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood was published. It is filled with the foolishness of the crazy family life of the Walkers: Mamma and Daddy and the four children. This is set in the 1960's, which was a turbulent time, but this family is living away from mainstream America in Louisiana, so they are unaffected, yet, by the societal changes. Underlying all of thi...more

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Feb 20, 2011 Chana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american, fiction-family-drama, fiction-southern, received-through-bookcrossing, released-through-bookcrossing

I think a childhood in America in the 1960's is going to have a lot in common whether you grew up in the suburbs of S. Calif like I did, or in a farming family in a small town in Louisiana like the character Siddalee and her siblings. From being called Sara Bernhardt when you pouted and stomped your foot and whined, to watching Roadrunner on TV, to eating Ritz crackers, bologna sandwiches, Fritos, grilled cheese sandwiches, coca-cola, and snickers bars, calling things "even-steven", being told t...more I think a childhood in America in the 1960's is going to have a lot in common whether you grew up in the suburbs of S. Calif like I did, or in a farming family in a small town in Louisiana like the character Siddalee and her siblings. From being called Sara Bernhardt when you pouted and stomped your foot and whined, to watching Roadrunner on TV, to eating Ritz crackers, bologna sandwiches, Fritos, grilled cheese sandwiches, coca-cola, and snickers bars, calling things "even-steven", being told to push back your cuticles and wearing cold cream at night. And a lot of the tougher stuff too, like most adults smoking cigarettes and drinking, getting "belted" for a punishment, parents screaming at each other.
But this book goes beyond that. It starts out eccentric and charming in its way, the drinking doesn't seem beyond what I used to see, as I said drinking and smoking was accepted in the 1960's as regular behavior, and belting your kids was acceptable as well. This book strays into territory beyond that, it gets kind of monstrous and very sad really.
The author is a gifted writer and succeeds at connecting her reader to each character in her story, and to Louisiana itself. Without being overly descriptive each character tells you about what is going on with them at the time and it makes a very complete picture, especially when the children are young. When the children are grown I had a harder time relating to them although I retained my connection to the main four adults: Vivi, Big Shep, Letta and Chaney. I felt especially connected to Big Shep in the section where he finds an old black man in his fields looking for his mules. I could understand his tears and his feelings very well and I mourned the changes and the loss of the farmland in Louisiana, I cried along with Big Shep. Despite Vivi's behavior I found myself often liking her and I liked the way the book wrapped up with Siddalee's declaration to her mother, the one she repeats twice, that felt right. Still a sad book in many ways, not the light-hearted read that I expected. It is much more complex and sophisticated than it would seem to be, a social commentary, not just a story of one family. (less)

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Jun 10, 2011 Tracie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A fun little last-minute library pick-up for a recent trip. I haven't read her other books, but have listened to the audio of Divine Secrets I think. It's always fun to listen to southern accents and sass! I don't remember the other book well, but what I like about this one is how each chapter is told by a different character and while it is not a chronological story, more like evening porch reminiscing - you get a good idea of who each character is and they feel very real. These characters are...more

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Jul 12, 2009 Madeline rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: don-t-judge-me

I don't care if it's fluffy chick lit/"look at my dysfunctional family" memoir trash, I still love these characters.

"You can't go anywhere with Mama without things getting nuts. If it's going along too smooth she will invent something just to stir things up. Sometimes we'll be downtown shopping and everything's going normal, and Mama will put her fingers in her mouth and let out the loudest, most piercing whistle you ever heard in your life. Then everyone gets startled and drops what they're do...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Allison Welker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started this book knowing that it was the first one in the series of the Ya-Ya's. I had read the Devine Secrets a couple of years ago and wanted to start from the beginning, something I'm doing with all of the series' that I have started somewhere in the middle. I loved the Devine Secrets, more than the movie but still just as good.

This book goes into not just the life of Siddalee Walker but rather the lives of all of the family member, Vivi, Shep, Little Shep, Lulu, and Baylor as well as the...more

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Oct 09, 2010 Barbra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I tried reading Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by this author quite a while ago and could not get into it so when I started reading this book I was quite prepared that this was going to go the same way but surprise! - I really enjoyed this book and will now try Divine Secrets again.
I love the characters, especially Chaney and Willetta and found the book to be both heartwarming and emotional. I am so glad I read it.

Back Cover Blurb:
Little Altars Everywhere offers another look into the tur...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Our Library Mornington rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: we-recommend

A Collection of fictional reminiscences on growing up in the Walder family of the small town Thornton, Louisiana. These stories come from every member of the family – wife, husband and children, (both young and grown) not to mention the servants, and they give the reader a full and rounded view of this family.

I especially enjoyed listening to this on tape as the reader’s accents bring to life the southern nature of these stories exquisitely. In fact it’s hard not to crave a sweet iced tea or may...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Connie added it · review of another edition

Easy read. I liked the writing and the fact that the chapters are from various characters' points of view. But why is so much literature and drama centered on people who are really messed up? I mean, we're all messed up in our own special ways, but there's such a lot of real dysfunction in fiction. In this book, the mother, Vivi, is a narcissistic alcoholic who sexually abuses and beats her children. The father, also a heavy drinker, struggles with constant feelings of inadequacy and is absent m...more

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Dec 05, 2008 Lindsey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, touching

I am SO glad I read this after Ya Ya. Ugh, if I had read it beforehand, I may not have read the other book at all.

YaYa was written in a way that made Vivi seem human, but also with a decidedly magical charisma. In Altars she was - well, I dunno. Totally bonkers, I guess I'd say. And this is on TOP of being an alcoholic, which tore my dress a little. I felt like it stole away some of the magic.

By itself it's a humorous, touching, poignant read - but as a companion book to YaYa it's ... I dunno. I...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

An interesting look in to the lives of the somewhat-dysfunctional Walker family of Louisiana and their close family friends. The matriarch of the family, Vivi, belongs to a group of childhood friends called the Ya-Yas. You find yourself bouncing back and forth between the different members of the Walker family, as well as between times, sometimes reading about the Walker children as they are kids and sometimes as adults, which is a interesting technique. This could be confusing in other books, b...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Skylar Burris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction

The blurb I read about this book billed it as a "novel" and said that it was "funny." Well, it's only funny in the sense, as one of the characters says, of "not funny ha-ha, but funny tired. Funny sad." The book is also more like a short story cycle than a novel. Characters and themes weave together throughout the collection, but each chapter is somewhat self-contained and there are large gaps in time. As such, there wasn't a lot of the sustained tension typically present in a novel, and so I wa...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Leah Newton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: other-fiction

When I read this book, I didn't realize that it was the prequel to the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood series. If I had know, I probably wouldn't have read it, because I would have just assumed that it was pop-culture trash. Little Altars Everywhere was so good and was not at all pop-culture trash! It included themes such as slavery and domestic violence, but was written from the endearing and lighthearted perspective of a young girl. I tried to read the next book in the series and couldn...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, series, family-drama, the-american-south, ya-yas

I am never a fan of first-person narrative. Can't say I really liked this, though I did enjoy Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. This lacked the joy of Divine Secrets—joy and hilarity interspersed with melodrama and heartbreak. Little Altars, in comparison, was dreary. Had I not first read about these characters--Vivi, the Ya-Yas, Sidda--in Divine Secrets, I would have absolutely abhored them here, or at the very least I wouldn't have had much patience with them. The only exception is the n...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Janelle Saari rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is another one I have been carrying around forever, maybe even a solid decade. Wow. I think I bought it after reading Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood, but never read it until now. It is a prequel to that book, and since I barely remember that book now it might be hard for me to compare. It's set mostly in the 60's in Louisiana and follows the family of one of the YaYas. Each chapter is from the perspective of a different family member at different times in their lives. There isn't rea...more

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Oct 18, 2012 K M rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After I'd finished reading Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, I thought that I probably should have read Little Altars Everywhere first. It turns out that I am glad that I read them out of sequence. The chapters(?) of this book are written from various characters' points-of-view. This was quite interesting, but I enjoyed the flow of the second book more. This book confirmed some of the things I'd suspected regarding the extent of the family's dysfunction, but, for me, it felt right to read...more

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Aug 29, 2008 Kimberly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of those books that made me laugh out loud and boo-hoo cry, too. One of my favorites.

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Apr 14, 2013 Gretchen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have mixed feeling about this book. I haven't read any of the other Ya-Ya Sisterhood books and I hope this one didn't ruin them for me, as I plan to read them. I did enjoy the narrative from the main characters, but I ended up feeling sorry for them for having to endure their mother, Viviane, who is an alcoholic child abuser. Instead of being happy-crazy, this family seems just sad and very dysfunctional due to these issues. I expected a lighthearted tale about a Southern family but got a dark...more

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Aug 26, 2010 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a prequel (or sequel?) to The Divine Secrets of Ya Ya Sisterhood, one of my favorite books. The chapters alternated the voices of the characters telling their own stories. The book focused only on Vivianne's family so the chapters were herself, her children and her husband. Each chapter had a different take on life and/or memories from the family members and towards the end of the book the Walker kids were all grown up contemplating their childhood.

Rebecca Wells is extremely talented. I...more

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Oct 18, 2012 April rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Women, people from the South,

Shelves: fiction, race-relations, south, women

Fastest I'v read any book this year! Love, love, love this writer, a cross between Judy Blume and Jodi Picoult. The narrative switches between characters and the plot is built around what each character says and their point of view. For the most part it is told in the present tense, but switches back and forth between the 60s and 90s. The chapters aren't necessarily in chronological order, however, that doesn't diminish the power of the story. This is the introductory book to the famous Divine S...more

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Sep 13, 2010 Redfox5 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I really didn't think this book was going to be as good as it was. I loved how it started, fun and happy. Kids all playing in the summer with their funny but slightly crazy mum. Then as the book goes on it turns slightly sinister. Vivi is actually horrible, the worst kind of mother. She just gets worst as the book goes on. A very selfish character. The children explain what happens to them over the years. I felt very sorry for them. I would be interested in reading the secrets of the ya ya siste...more

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Oct 13, 2010 Lizzie Branch rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was very good. I enjoyed reading it alot. I liked the southern dialect within the book.
The book is about the Walker family that lives on a plantation in Louisiana. The main character is Siddalee Walker, who is a grown up and dreaming of herself as a child again in her dreams, she wakes up and she's laughing and thinking of her mother who she loves dearly.
We also meet "Little Shep," Siddalee's brother, named after "Big Shep," their father. We also meet Baylor, the younger brother, and...more

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About Rebecca Wells

Rebecca Wells was born and raised in Alexandria, Louisiana. “I grew up,” she says, “in the fertile world of story-telling, filled with flamboyance, flirting, futility, and fear.” Surrounded by Louisiana raconteurs, a large extended family, and Our Lady of Prompt Succor’s Parish, Rebecca’s imagination was stimulated at every turn. Early on, she fell in love with thinking up and acting in plays for...more Rebecca Wells was born and raised in Alexandria, Louisiana. “I grew up,” she says, “in the fertile world of story-telling, filled with flamboyance, flirting, futility, and fear.” Surrounded by Louisiana raconteurs, a large extended family, and Our Lady of Prompt Succor’s Parish, Rebecca’s imagination was stimulated at every turn. Early on, she fell in love with thinking up and acting in plays for her siblings—the beginnings of her career as an actress and writer for the stage. She recalls her early influences as being the land around her, harvest times, craw-fishing in the bayou, practicing piano after school, dancing with her mother and brothers and sister, and the close relationship to her black “mother” who cleaned for the Wells household. She counts black music and culture from Louisiana as something that will stay in her body’s memory forever.

In high school, she read Walt Whitman’s “I Sing the Body Electric,” which opened her up to the idea that everything in life is a poem, and that, as she says, “We are not born separately from one another.” She also read “Howl,” Allen Ginsberg’s indictment of the strangling consumer-driven American culture he saw around him. Acting in school and summer youth theater productions freed Rebecca to step out of the social hierarchies of high school and into the joys of walking inside another character and living in another world.

The day after she graduated from high school, Rebecca left for Yellowstone National Park, where she worked as a waitress. It was an introduction to the natural glories of the park—mountains, waterfalls, hot springs, and geysers—as well as to the art of hitchhiking.

Rebecca graduated from Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, where she studied theater, English, and psychology. She performed in many college plays, but also stepped outside the theater department to become awakened to women’s politics. During this time she worked as a cocktail waitress--once accidentally kicking a man in the shins when he slipped a ten-dollar bill down the front of her dress—and began keeping a journal after reading Anais Nin, which she has done ever since.

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“Sidda can't help herself. She just loves books. Loves the way they feel, the way they smell, loves the black letters marching across the white pages...” — 59 people liked it

“See, she goes places when she reads. I know all about that. When I'm reading, wherever I am, I'm always somewhere else.” — 49 people liked it

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