Summary

In “Bright Day,” when Roxy was in her fifties, she attended weekly “Dungeons & Dragons sessions at Bright Day, her treatment center” (143). Though she never played, she was fascinated by the way characters [were] made” (143). She attended Bright Day because she had struggled with addiction for years. The group was run by a man named Chris Salazar. Lou, Roxy’s father, had mentored Chris’s father Bennie years prior. Chris developed the group in an attempt to help addicts form connections and recover.

Though Roxy enjoyed the D&D group, she had “no interest” in the collective (145). When it came to Mandala, she only wanted “to relive her best days,” and did not care about “other people’s memories” (145).

Chris ran the D&D group with his friend Molly, hosting sessions “at recovery centers all over the Bay Area” (148). The...