Finding One's Place in the World

At the beginning of the novel, Ayla finds herself alone after having spent most of her life in the bosom of a Clan of people who, while they did not completely accept her, made her a part of their traditions. Ayla was never a true part of the Clan because she did not look like them; her mind did not work like theirs, and she was too big to fit in. Only a few members of the Clan accepted Ayla despite her clear differences. With these few, Ayla created a family, a mother and father who taught her to communicate and their unique knowledge of healing. To Ayla, this was the only family she thought she would ever know. Ayla also had a child, a boy conceived through the repeated rapes of a man who hated Ayla for her differences. Ayla was forced...