Set in a small city in southern Georgia, The Salt Eaters is an intricate portrait of a community struggling with issues of people's own health and worldwide use of nuclear power. The people search for the healing properties of salt and an understanding that healing starts from the personal acceptance of being ill and therefore need to be healed. The novel is centered around the story of a young woman, Velma who tries to commit suicide, and her healing takes a long time because first she needs to be convinced that that she needs to accept the fact that she needs to be cured. The author uses a lot of symbols in the book, which will be discussed in the next paragraph.

In the beginning of the story there is the issue of trying to convince Velma, the main character, that she is ill. There is another entity...