Getting Near to Baby is the story of Willa Jo Dean who faces tragedy and loss at the tender age of just thirteen. Willa Jo is forced to take on the role of protector of a younger sister who is so traumatized by events that she has lost the ability to speak. Willa Jo takes on the worries, adult in scope, over the emotional and mental stability of her mother whose grief and pain turn to denial and obsession.

The story beings with Willa Jo and her little sister, whose name is Jo Ann but is known merely as "Little Sister," sitting on the roof of their Aunt Patty's house. It is just before sunrise and the girls cling to each other as they wait for the burst of color that will soon appear over the horizon. A jogger spots the girls and alerts Aunt Patty...