Nettie recalls the many things that have happened since the summer she spent on Fools Mountain. She lost her best friend, but she learned how to love others and, more importantly, how to love herself. Aunt Martha has had a slight stroke and Nettie and Ray are dating, so Nettie stays close to home and attends the Arkansas Baptist University on a full scholarship. She visits Fools Mountain many times in her life, and sometimes she finds her way down, but other times she falls. The falls make it hard to get up and try again, but that is another part of her story.