First, it is a saga of the indomitableness of the human spirit over poverty, disease and bigotry.
Second, it is a story of spiritual growth from loneliness, doubt and superstition to personal experience of the constant presence of God.
Third, it is a social documentary of the life of a black woman in a male-dominated culture who learns to overcome each challenge that culture presents.
Lastly, it is a medical history of the overcoming of heterotaxy, a deadly genetic disease carried from mother to son, and the modern miracles occurring in medicine every day- with, as Creola would say, the help of God.