Family Migration Novel
Nina LaCour's New Novel Explores Family's Los Angeles Migration and 1950s Identity Struggles
Author Nina LaCour has written her most personal book yet. Her new novel, "Meet Me in the Garden," follows a Black Creole family's journey from New Orleans to Los Angeles — a story rooted in LaCour's own family history, according to Press Democrat.
The book spans from World War II through the 1965 Watts riots. It centers on Odette, the youngest of the Honore sisters, as she moves west and grows from a teenager into a parent. LaCour drew on family interviews and deep historical research to bring the story to life, Daily Camera reported.
A Family History That Sparked a Novel
LaCour's own family made the same migration from New Orleans to Los Angeles that her fictional Honore family takes in the book. That real-life history gave her a powerful starting point. She conducted interviews with family members and dug into historical records to fill in the details, according to Morning Journal.
The result is a multigenerational story tied closely to two cities. New Orleans serves as the family's roots. Los Angeles becomes the place where they rebuild and redefine themselves. LaCour said her family's history in LA was both rich and painful — a tension that runs through the entire novel, Pilot Online reported.
Odette's Journey from Teen Years to Parenthood
The novel's main character, Odette, is the youngest of three sisters. Readers follow her from her teenage years in New Orleans all the way through becoming a parent in Los Angeles. Her arc covers roughly two decades of American history, from World War II to the Watts riots of 1965, News Herald reported.
Much of the book explores how Odette and other characters search for identity. Several characters struggle to live openly as lesbians in the 1950s, a time when doing so carried serious social risk. LaCour said the novel is fundamentally about the exploration of self, according to The Times-Tribune.
LaCour Chose Hope Over Historical Tragedy
LaCour's family history includes real tragedies. She initially planned to include them in the book. But she made a deliberate choice to change course. She decided not to be "beholden to the truth," as she put it, and gave her characters a happier ending instead, Capital Gazette reported.
That decision reflects a core belief LaCour holds about fiction. She wanted her characters — especially those who are queer and Black — to have the joy and survival that history so often denied real people. The fictional ending became a kind of gift to her own family story, according to Journal Advocate.
Research and Memory Shaped Every Page
Writing the book required years of work beyond the family interviews. LaCour researched what life looked like in New Orleans and Los Angeles across two decades. She studied the social and racial landscape of both cities to make sure the details felt real, Greeley Tribune reported.
The Watts riots of 1965 serve as a major backdrop near the novel's end. That event shook Los Angeles and exposed deep racial inequality. By ending the book around that moment, LaCour ties her family's personal story to one of the most significant events in the city's history, according to Daily Press.
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