To be ignored, to be forgotten, this was the worst sadness of all.
-- Ana (Sepphoris 16 - 17 CE)

Importance: After Ana begins reading and writing, she discovers that she never learned the stories of the women in the Scriptures. This revelation disturbs her. She begins understanding that like the forgotten and erased stories of the women before her, her own story is at risk of being overlooked or discounted. This striking sadness and fear, makes Ana resolve herself to chronicling the accounts of the women in her own life. The novel enacts Ana's work to preserve, not only her own life's stories, but those of her female friends and family members.

I will want for everything.
-- Ana (Sepphoris 16 - 17 CE)

Importance: When Ana learns her parents are betrothing her to Nathaniel ben Hananiah, she vehemently resists. Her mother assures that a marriage to Nathaniel will afford her countless blessings and comforts. In the secret of her mind, Ana knows a life...