Summary
Dori’s condition worsens. She miscarries the baby and overdoses several times. Emmy is sent to a rehab facility and Demon comes to say goodbye. She tells him he’s a better person than Dori and that he has a sense of self she and so many people lack. Angus calls Demon several times. He answers and she says that U-Haul is trying to attack her. He arrives at the house and chases U-Haul off. She says he was threatening to blackmail Coach for embezzling. She says that he tried to use this information as leverage to get her to have sex with him.
Demon finds Dori dead from an overdose. He is devastated, but also expected this to happen eventually. A funeral is held. Demon becomes despondent. He and Maggot get high together constantly. While out on a bender with Maggot, Demon runs into Rose, who tells him Fast Forward is at the gorge. High on drugs and enraged, they drive over. They run into Emmy’s ex Hammer Kelly. He joins their group and brings his shotgun along.
They find Fast Forward at the top of the gorge. Hammer spooks him with the gun. Fast Forward's friend Bear shouts that Hammer has a gun. Fast Forward loses his footing and falls into the water, cracking his skull open. Hammer dives into the water after him and drowns. Demon is bereft, feeling that Hammer's life was wasted and that he, Demon, should have died that day.
As revenge for Fast Forward's death, Rose reports Maggot as having supplied Hammer with drugs. This gets him into legal trouble. Demon sees June, and she encourages him to get help. She refers him to a halfway house. Later, Demon gets high and drives out to the woods. He sleeps in a cave that night, having frightening hallucinations about copperhead snakes and bears.
Feeling that he has his rock bottom, Demon focuses on getting sober. He spends three years in a halfway house in Knoxville. He befriends several other people there and works slowly towards maintaining sobriety. He remains in touch with Angus and Tommy.
Demon makes a plan to return to Lee County. After getting a small following for an online comic, he receives an offer for a potential book deal. He talks to Ms. Annie about negotiating a contract. She invites him back. He has trepidation about the visit, as he is worried it might dredge up old memories and also make him struggle to maintain sobriety. He drives back and is overcome with the natural beauty around him. He learns there is a tribute being planned for Coach. He wrestles with his decision but decides to not attend, as he worries it will bring up too much and he will be surrounded by addicts.
Ms. Annie ends up postponing her meeting, as she goes into labor. Demon gets breakfast with June. She tells him about the lawsuits she's pursuing against the pharmaceutical companies. He asks about Emmy and she says she's doing well in Asheville and is part of a dance troupe. She says she will likely never return to Lee County, as it would be too much for her. He also goes to see his grandmother and Mr. Dick, making the drive out to Murder Valley. They have a nice visit and are happy he is doing well. He has a similarly warm visit with Coach, choosing to see him one on one rather than go to the celebration.
Finally, he goes to see Angus. They catch up about school. He asks her if she has a boyfriend, as his grandmother mentioned her being interested in someone. She deflects the question. They reminisce about their time together. Then she asks if he ever saw the ocean. He says no and she says they have to go see it. As they drive, Angus looks at Demon in a way that makes him realize she has feelings for him. He puts his arm around her as they drive and talk. He feels ecstatic about the future with Angus and excited to finally see the ocean.
Analysis
Addiction plays a major role in the book's conclusion. After finding Dori dead and witnessing Hammer and Fast Forward's deaths, Demon finally feels compelled to seek out treatment, as he feels he has truly hit rock bottom. He knows that his spiral will only have one conclusion. He says that getting clean is not a simple, one-off choice, but rather a daily choice that becomes easier with time. He compares it to caring for a sick person, but being both the caregiver and the patient. His retelling of his time in rehab frames it as a slow and gradual process, one that requires a daily commitment and is often a painful struggle. Demon's description shows how, for him, the journey from addiction to recovery is a series of small steps.
Art also is a significant motif in the ending of the novel, as Demon tries to recharacterize the lives of impoverished Southerners. In his words, he draws to push back on the world around him, not just mirror it. He internalizes the lessons he has learned from Mr. Armstrong and June, refusing to accept the image of Southerners as ignorant or uneducated. He highlights the heroism of his comic protagonist Red Neck, as a way of portraying coal miners with dignity. His book project with Tommy is an alternative history of the South that highlights economic disparity and generational wealth gaps. For Demon, from a young age, art becomes a way to both escape the harsh conditions of his life and to reclaim the narratives that have been forced upon him. In his drawings, he is not hemmed in by stereotyped views of Southern poverty.
Community also appears as a significant theme in the book's conclusion. Demon returns to Lee County to reconnect with Ms. Annie as he prepares to potentially sign a book deal. At the same time, he comes back to see June, his grandmother, and Coach. They all express pride in his recovery and June, particularly, says she believed in his wherewithal. While Demon's trip home is a somewhat fraught one, as he also deals with the ghosts of his past, it serves as a reminder that these people never stopped caring about him, even when things looked grim or they did not know how to help him. Demon feels reassured in his faith in their connection. Even if he does not remain in Lee County, he knows they will always be his family, blood-related or not.
The biggest reveal at the book's end is Angus's romantic interest in Demon. Demon realizes, as they plan to go to the ocean, that she is in love with him, and potentially has been for some time. He is overwhelmed, as he had previously thought of her as his sister, but also felt the closest to her out of anyone. He immediately reciprocates, as they happily drive out to the coast. In this moment, he seems to recognize that she has always been there for him, through his darkest moments, and has remained close to him over the years. Her love for him is selfless and honest, something he has never known previously. She is the most vital part of his life and gives him hope that there is something bright in store for him and the rest of his life.
The book's ending is a bright one. Demon drives off to shore to finally see the ocean that has eluded him for so many years. He has his arm around the person who loves him and who he loves just as much. This is the resolution of his years of loss, pain, and struggle, as he has finally found someone who makes him feel at home. It is fitting that Angus is the person who is with him at the end, as she has been the one constant in his life, a person who was always reliable and straightforward. While the story ends in motion, there is the strong sense that he has more to look forward to.
