The Optimist's Daughter is the story of Laurel McKelva Hand, a young woman who, after leaving the South, returns a year later to New Orleans, where her father dies. After his death, together with her stupid young stepmother, she goes even further, to the small town on the Mississippi where she grew up. In the solitude of the old house, Laurel finally comes to understand her past, herself and her parents. Pulitzer Prize 1973