54 pages • 1 hour read
Amanda PetersA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Content Warning: This section of the guide examines substance use disorder and domestic violence.
The months following Joe’s accident are difficult. He is in constant pain, and he struggles to believe that he will ever truly recover. He is mired in self-pity, and he blames the man who hit him, though his mother and Mae point out that he stepped out in front of the man’s truck on a dark night. He also confesses to Mae that he blames himself for Ruthie’s disappearance. Mae has no patience for Joe’s guilt, telling him that having been the last one to see Ruthie does not make him responsible, nor does it make him special. She feels that he uses Ruthie’s disappearance to feel sorry for himself. Although he does not want to admit it to Mae, he realizes that she is right. He resolves to be more helpful, as Mae suggests, and to try to move on. When Mr. Richardson, the man who accidentally hit Joe with his truck, offers him a job at his service station, he accepts.
He is happy working for Mr. Richardson. He meets Cora, a red-haired woman ten years his senior, and their relationship blossoms into marriage.
Brothers & Sisters
View Collection
Canadian Literature
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Forgiveness
View Collection
Globalization
View Collection
Grief
View Collection
Guilt
View Collection
Hate & Anger
View Collection
Indigenous People's Literature
View Collection
Loyalty & Betrayal
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Mortality & Death
View Collection
Mothers
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection
The Past
View Collection
Truth & Lies
View Collection