Chapter One: The Goddam Bridge. The Miracle. The Howling.

Summary

• The protagonist recounts his relationship with his father, a heavy drinker since the death of the protagonist's mother. The protagonist's mother was killed in a car accident involving a man in a plumbing truck on the Sycamore Street Bridge.
• The father is fired from his job due, in part, to his drinking habits. Despite promising to stop drinking, he is often drunk by midday and the family lives in fear of losing their home.
• The protagonist prays for his father to quit drinking and soon after, Lindsey Franklin, a former coworker and recovering alcoholic, visits. He speaks with the father and encourages him to seek help.
• Following the visit, the father attends his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He goes through a rough detoxification process, with frequent mood swings, but eventually stabilises.
• The father begins to rebuild his life, gets a new job at a car rental agency, stops drinking, and spends more time with his son. The protagonist expresses hope for their future, with the worst seemingly behind them.

• The father of the narrator begins attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings with a man named Lindy Franklin.
• The narrator's father struggles with a few relapses but finally achieves a year of sobriety.
• The father returns to his job and eventually starts his own business as an investigator and independent claims adjuster.
• There is a discussion on the importance of education and grades, emphasizing the necessity for the narrator to perform well acadically to secure a good college education.
• The narrator joins several volunteer organizations and takes on various social initiatives to keep a promise he made to God when praying for his father's recovery.
• The chapter then introduces the character of Mr. Bowditch, an elderly man living in an old house infamous in the neighbourhood as the 'Psycho House', who possesses a mean German Shepherd named Radar.
• The narrator describes how his friend Andy had a scary encounter with the dog, and how Mr. Bowditch is known for his rudeness and unfriendliness towards younger people.
• The chapter ends with the narrator coming across Mr. Bowditch needing help after hearing Radar's distressed growls and a faint cry for help.