title: The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Little Altars Everywhere
author/editor: Rebecca Wells
reviewed by: June

Both books in the title are written by Rebecca Wells. I read them in reverse order of when they were written and will reflect on them that way.

First, Ya-Ya. The YaYas are a group of four indulged, affluent Southern women who have been friends since early childhood. The book deals with the relationship between mother and daughter. Mother, Vivi Walker, is the group's leader. Her forty- year- old daughter, Sidda, is a successful playwright and director on the New York stage. Because of an unfortunate quote attributed to Sidda in an interview with the New York Times, her mother disowns her.

Much of the story is told in flashbacks, and brings the reader into an intimate knowledge of the interrelationships of Ya-Yas. To heal the breach between Vivi and Sidda, the other three Ya- Yas use a 'Divine Secrets' scrap-book. It fills the gaps in Sidda's memory and understanding.

Vivi is an alcoholic, and her behavior is often ambivalent. Sidda reflects: "What heaven it was when Vivi's light shined on me."

Vivi's charm, warmth and zest for life prompt such declarations as: "It's life, Sidda. You just climb on the beast and ride!"

A very telling moment occurs on opening night of the first professional play (See top, next.) Sidda directs. At the party afterward, Sidda is congratulated and toasted. She thanks her cast and crew but forgets to mention Vivi! A deep-seated jealousy prompts a drunken Vivi to declare loudly, "They should not allow CHILDREN to direct ... to touch an American classic like Arthur Miller!"

This is a seriously funny book. It celebrates the sometimes elusive edge between tears and laughter. Henri Nouwen, ac-claimed religious writer, said it well: "Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly...."

Four years before Wells wrote Ya-Ya, she wrote and published, Little Altars Everywhere. It can be seen as a companion piece, although they cover approximately the same period of time -- early sixties to the early nineties. While the later book is told principally through the voices of Sidda and Vivi, in this earlier book, Wells shifts the story-telling from character to character.

It explores in more detail the childhood of Sidda and her siblings, and growing up with the Ya Yas. The author impresses on the reader how rarely people understand each other, even though they live together as a family.

June (June '03) says: Being a native Southerner, I "recognized" many of the character types. I laughed and cried along with them. Wells' writing has an intimate lyrical quality lent it with phrases like, Mama understands the gospel of popularity..."

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