Summary

“Strays” is a first person narrative about a woman completing a six-month stay at La Vida, a methadone clinic, after being caught with needle marks. The group gets methadone in the morning and then group work through the afternoon, during which they work on anger and defiance. Her stay goes well for the first three months. She meets a woman called Sexy, who was a prostitute in Mexico. She likes her, but others in the group do not think she will last long at the facility. Later, Sexy is gets out and ends up back in jail. The stray dogs around the facility encounter porcupines and the quills cause an infection. The dogs need to be put down and Bobby beats them to death with a sledgehammer.

“Grief” is a third person narrative of Delores and Sally, two sisters, staying at a resort...