Is Mill Creek a real place?  

Was Gittel a real person?

Mill Creek is a fictional place, but the surrounding towns and many of the landmarks mentioned in the book, like Skunk Hill, are real places. My fictional Mill Creek was based on Arpin, Wisconsin, the site of the only Jewish agricultural colony in the state. To learn more about Arpin, see the video produced by Jewish Museum Milwaukee below. 

All of the townspeople in Mill Creek are fictional, but Gittel and her family are loosely based on members of my own family, including -- and especially -- my mother, Gloria, whose name was Gittel when she came to the US from Romania at age 2. The lovely face on the left belongs to my mom at 13, the same age as Gittel in my book.  When my mom grew up, she had four children: three boys and then, nine years later, a girl--me!  That's why my handle on social media is Gittelsgirl.