This research note reports on some of the findings of a microhistorical study aimed at illuminating the sociocultural dynamics in French-speaking Louisiana from the colonial era through the Civil War (1861-65) and Reconstruction (1863-77). The document at the heart of this project is the autobiography of Marie-Désirée Martin, entitled Evening Visits with a Sister, or The Destiny of a Strand of Moss (1877). The great-granddaughter of Acadian refugees, the author evokes the experience of her ancestors—especially women—to make sense of her own life, particularly her decision to leave the religious order she had joined at the age of 16, the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This preliminary exploration draws from an examination of relevant collections at the Sacred Heart’s archives in St. Louis, Missouri. The article is divided into two parts, the first focusing on the interactions between nuns and people of African descent held in slavery by the Sacred Heart, and the second theme being that of intercultural relationships within the order. All while taking account of the continental and transnational mobility of the nuns, the analysis situates Martin’s trajectory by comparing it to those of other Louisiana women in the Society of the Sacred Heart.