Summary

The novel opens with a brief prologue of Carrie remembering how Mike teased her about her memory and how she would remember what people were wearing. Mike and Carrie were on their way to Clausen’s Pier for the Memorial Day holiday. Carrie knew their relationship was fading, but she did not know how to break it off given that they had been together since high school. After meeting their friends at the pier, they all ate and drank beer from the cooler. Carrie noticed that the water looked low. Mike decided to dive off the pier.

In Chapter 1 of Part One : Intensive Care, the scene switches to Carrie thinking about Mike’s diving accident at Clausen's Pier. Even though she knows that the accident happened to Mike, she feels like it happened to her. She is struck by her lack of...