Mallett grew up on a small family farm in Appalachia and notes her connection to the Nolans. “We grew and raised almost everything we ate when I was young,” explains Mallett. “As the years passed, I watched the farms close their doors and be forced to sell—either because the farmers grew old and no one wanted to take over, or because the pressures stemming from corporate agriculture were just too great for the small family farms to keep up with... It was devastating.” Yet Mallet stayed deeply connected to the land around her and began to create stories that deal with themes of nature, food, and home. “It was important to me for the land to be a real presence in the final piece,” Mallett continues. “The Nolans rely on the land for everything they do, just as generations of families have done on the same piece of land for many thousands of years. Even when things feel scattered or unknown, the land holds it all together.”
