Louisiana is located in the southeastern United States and its southern coast lies on the Gulf of Mexico. In the summer, temperatures can reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Its high humidity levels make the area muggy and wet in the summers and cold and damp in the winters. The Louisiana wetland, also known as the bayou, is famous for its unique landscape that combines massive trees, deep rivers, and marshes. It is home to a wide variety of animals, perhaps the most famous of which is the alligator. The girls of the Ya-Ya tribe claim a profound and ancient connection to the land, and they spend most of their time outdoors, surrounded by cypress trees or nestled in the creek of the bayou. Alligators are used as a metaphor in the novel during the Ya-Ya ritual to symbolize the fears and pains of life from which the women protect one another.

The sections of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood that follow Vivi’s story are set in the heart of the Louisiana bayou, primarily in a town called Thornton. The novel’s setting is as dynamic and essential as its characters, providing a vivid backdrop to important scenes, as well as a connection to the history and land that the Ya-Yas hail from.