Summary

Chapter 9 opens on Tony in the rehabilitation clinic, where he is suffering from physical withdrawal and a conviction that the problem in his life is Tara Duane, not his drinking. The facilitators want Tony to see how his own behaviors led him to drink, but Tony is convinced that only Tara’s promiscuity and Ryan’s unwillingness to engage cause his troubles. This section ends with Tony hearing what he thinks is the shriek of a banshee over the river.

The next section describes Ryan waiting outside the rehab clinic with his cousin, Joseph, the son of Tony’s twin sister, Fiona. Fiona had pushed Ryan to go to the “Solidarity House’s ‘family day’” (117). Ryan is conflicted about going in; on one hand, he feels like he needs to show up because he would be a jerk not to, but he...