Bridgers identifies the "homeplace" as an old house in a rural setting, the "land on which our ancestors lived" ("From Inside Out"). Bliss Jackson's house, although relatively modern and located in a small town, is still the homeplace, the center of family life.

For Bill and Bliss Jackson, it is the home they built together; for Kevin and Wren it is the place where they have been taken in and loved, the place which holds their memories of growing up—piano practice, family dinners, and first dates. For Tom it is the place to return to in the hope of being healed, and for Karen Jackson it is the place to renew her contact with her children.

The Jackson house is a solid place of refuge for each of them.

And outside the house is a small North Carolina town, a re-creation of the world that Bridgers...