The novel travels chronologically through each month and location along the Trail of Tears . Glancy taps into an emotional and horrific , but historically accurate account of what many now refer to as Indian genocide . In an interview with Jennifer Andrews for the '' American Indian Quarterly '' , Glancy tells Andrews that " the land had to give me permission to write . The ancestors had to give permission to write , too . For instance , I started off '' Pushing the Bear '' with one voice , and it was n't enough . I had to go back and add her husband and everybody who had traveled with them on the Trail of Tears . It takes many voices to tell a story , and I think we carry those voices within us " ( Andrews 651 )
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Pushing the Bear