Summary

Upon recovering from his coma, Jervis insists that he has communed with a deity whom he refers to as “Ocean.” He begins taking to the streets of Portland to go on “Ocean-walks,” during which he obeys a spiritual impulse and wanders the city to find individuals in need of help. He requests TJ’s help in this discipline by asking TJ to lend him the dolls that allowed him to wake from his coma; the dolls become a fundamental aspect of “Dumpster Catholicism.” Although TJ supports his brother, he is alarmed when Jervis invites him on an Ocean-walk and realizes that Jervis regularly places himself in the same kinds of dangerous situations that led to his hospitalization in the first place.

Meanwhile, Risa moves to Providence, RI, and begins pursuing an Art MFA at the Rhode Island School of Design...