Meanwhile, Willy Jack is hiding from Novalee his plan to lose a finger at the trainyard so that he can win a cash settlement, like his cousin did, and not have to work again.

Novalee convinces Willy Jack to stop at a Walmart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, so she can use the restroom and purchase a pair of sandals, as hers fell through the rusted floor of their beat-up Plymouth.

Forney, who is beginning to fall in love with Novalee, throws her an intimate 18th birthday party in the library, consisting of gourmet dishes he's cooked himself.

Novalee is hesitantly grateful to accept the help and hands over the money she'd received from Sam Walton and her supporters so that her mother can buy what they need for the baby.

After suffering a blow to his chest, his heart stops in the middle of the night - while he struggles to restart it, he hears Novalee's voice guiding him to the heartbeat of their unborn baby.

He later manages to charm Claire Hudson, the solemn prison librarian mourning her dead son Finny, and uses her grief to his advantage.

She maintains strong friendships with Lexi Coop and Forney Hull, who has taken a sort of fatherly role with Americus as a teacher and mentor.

Novalee and Americus manage to make it to their storm shelter in time, but Sister Husband, who was visiting a neighbor, is trapped in the trailer by the ensuing tornado.

Beyond grieving the loss of Sister, Novalee struggles with the choice of whether to stay in Sequoyah with her family, or to move fifty miles away to Poteau, where the decimated Walmart is being rebuilt in order to keep her job and health insurance.

She decides to remain in Sequoyah and commute to Poteau, and with the insurance money she receives, is able to build a house right where Sister's trailer used to be, and where her buckeye tree is miraculously still standing.

He eventually becomes desperate as his money runs out, but finds representation from Ruth Meyers, a no-nonsense agent who agrees to take him on under the condition that he never lie to her.

Billy Shadow's star rises slowly and steadily, but his only real success is in "The Beat of a Heart," which becomes a hit after it's recorded by another musician.

Willy Jack quickly grows frustrated at what he feels is Ruth Meyer's lack of clout, and tries to go behind her back to find a better agent.

But Ruth, who has far more clout and connections than Willy Jack realizes, soon finds out about the plot, disbands his group, cancels his cards and gigs, and effectively ends his career.

Lexi eventually gives birth to her fifth child, and soon after begins dating a handsome and charming banker named Roger Briscoe.

As Lexi recovers in the hospital, Novalee moves the Coop family into her tiny house, and cares for the children with the help of her neighbors and Mr. Sprock.

Faced with the prospect of Forney working at a plastics plant, a job Novalee believes is beneath him, she deliberately breaks his heart by telling him she doesn't love him, so that he no longer has any ties to Oklahoma.

She soon catches, by chance, Willy Jack's name in the newspaper not long after her daughter's birthday, which reported that his wheelchair had been stolen while he was hitchhiking to Oklahoma to find his child.

Once Willy Jack is released, Novalee makes plans to take him back home to Tennessee, but first, she finally calls Forney and tearfully confesses to him that she lied about loving him and that she thought he deserved someone better.

Willy Jack is loaded up into Novalee's car as she prepares to take him home, but she decides to wait out a sudden storm before heading underway.

While she waits out the rain, she reflects on her life and the connections she'd made since being abandoned at the Walmart, and the home and happiness she'd created in the seven years since.

A 2000 film of the same name was directed by Matt Williams, starring Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, and Joan Cusack with supporting roles done by James Frain, Dylan Bruno, Keith David, and Sally Field.