Summary

In the “Foreword,” Willie, a friend of Mack, shares with the reader that he understands how the reader might be skeptical of Mack’s story. He describes Mack as a farm boy who was raised by an overly strict father who was an elder in the church. At home, however, Mack’s father was a closet drinker who beat his wife. During a youth revival, Mack had confessed that he had done nothing to help his mother when his father was beating her. The man to whom he confessed was a member of the same church as his father so Mack’s father learned about his son’s confession.

When Mack arrived home one day, his father was there alone. He tied Mack to a tree, beat him and preached to him in between drunken stupors for two days because Mack had...