Hegi's many awards include an NEA Fellowship and five PEN Syndicated Fiction Awards.[3] She won a book award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) in 1991 for Floating in My Mother's Palm. She has also had two New York Times Notable Book mentions.[1] She has written many book reviews for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post.

This book is a must read for students of history and personality; one small individual opens our eyes to history with a worldwide view.