Part 4: Carol Summary

Chapter 9, Happiness and Accidents, reveals the adolescence and young adulthood of Adele and her older sister. Carol reminisces about an idyllic vacation the two spent together on Mackinac Island, when she was a young mother and Adele was still in college. For perhaps the only time in their lives, the sisters were both accepting and supportive of each other, declaring a truce in what Carol sees as an ongoing competition.

Carol also recounts the saga of her son Hal, the baby who went to Mackinac Island with them. Hal was never athletic like her younger son Benny and therefore is a disappointment to his father Jimmy. Although Hal is smart, he never got good grades in school and starts hanging around with a bad crowd. Years later, Carol learns that Hal starts using drugs while still in high school. After high...