The younger set, or Petites Ya-Yas, as well as husbands and boyfriends, known as Yum-Yums, also are encouraged to get involved. There are almost 40 official chapters, from around the country, Canada and England, as well as a gay men's group in Houston. In the past two years, the 1996 novel has inspired women - and a handful of men - to organize groups that bring to life the book's characters, themes and good times.

'It takes a lot to be a special girlfriend not everyone can be a Ya-Ya.' 'A Ya-Ya is someone who can laugh at herself, let loose and be able to be a true girlfriend,' said Karen Barr-Pfeifer, 37, founder of the New Orleans Chapter of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. A closeness many wish to recapture - and celebrate. The term 'Ya-Ya' derives from the ceremonial scene, when the four childhood pals proclaim their tribal name and their promise to be friends for life. 'To my delight and total surprise, there are these charming and outrageous Ya-Ya clubs forming all over the country: wild women and not a few savvy men who identify with my tribe of fictional Louisiana girlfriends,' writes Wells in a welcome letter posted on the 'Ga-Ga for Ya-Yas' Web site, The book explores the Teflon-tough ties of mothers, daughters and childhood friends, set in the languid Deep South, circa 1940 to present. In the words of countless Ya-Yas around the nation: 'That is so Ya-Ya.'īut what, or who, is a Ya-Ya? The definition lies inside the pages of 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,' the novel by Rebecca Wells that has spawned dozens of Ya-Ya groups nationwide. 'But `Gone With the Wind' is on TV today,' countered her mother. 'But I'm not sick,' said the New Orleans youngster. Jane Hobson's daughter knew her mother was a 'Ya-Ya' at age 8, when her mother woke her on car pool day, felt her forehead for a temperature and determined that she had a fever and must stay home from school.

Secrets of the yaya sisterhood book