Chapter Thirty-Two: DUI, VA Rejection, and a Suicide Attempt

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Frankie wakes in a hospital bed after crashing her car into the Coronado Bridge while drunk. She learns she nearly killed a man, Bill Brightman, a high school principal. Her father picks her up, and she is charged with DUI. Back at her parents' house, Frankie struggles with guilt and her addiction to sleeping pills. She attempts to find help at a VA medical center’s rap therapy group for Vietnam veterans, but the men running the group refuse to let her stay, insisting that no women served in Vietnam. Humiliated, Frankie tracks down Brightman and apologizes in person. That night, she takes too many pills and hallucinates her deceased brother Finley. She follows the vision to the beach, paddles into the ocean on a surfboard, and nearly dies from hypothermia and overdose. Her father rescues her, and she is taken by ambulance to the psychiatric ward for a mandatory 36-hour hold.

Key Events

Frankie wakes in the hospital after her DUI crash; she learns she almost killed a cyclist, Bill Brightman.
She is charged with DUI and returns home with her father, who expresses fear and disappointment.
Frankie recognizes her addiction to sleeping pills and her possible suicidal intent.
She goes to a VA rap therapy group but is turned away because she is a woman.
She apologizes to Brightman at his home; he reminds her of the people she could have harmed.
That night, Frankie takes an overdose and hallucinates her brother Finley.
She follows the hallucination to the beach, takes a surfboard into the ocean, and nearly drowns.
She is rescued by her father and taken to a psychiatric ward for a 36-hour hold.

Character Development

Frankie McGrath reaches a new low in this chapter. She acknowledges her addiction and the possibility that she wanted to die. Her attempt to get help at the VA reveals the systemic sexism that denies her service as a female veteran. Her apology to Brightman shows a desire for accountability, but her subsequent overdose indicates she cannot yet sustain that hope. Frankie’s father moves from anger to fear, finally admitting he is afraid of losing her. Bill Brightman serves as a mirror for Frankie’s guilt; his measured response underscores the real harm she caused. The unnamed male veteran at the VA group exemplifies the institutional gatekeeping that isolates women who served.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Gender Discrimination in Veteran Services: The VA rap group leader tells Frankie she does not belong because “there were no women in Nam.” This rejection deepens her isolation and highlights the erasure of female veterans.
Addiction and Escapism: Frankie’s reliance on sleeping pills and alcohol reflects her inability to face her trauma. The overdose is both an accident and a cry for help.
The Ocean and Drowning: Frankie’s hallucination of Finley lures her into the sea, symbolizing her desire to disappear. The cold water offers numbness, but the rescue and psychiatric hold force her back to life.
Guilt and Accountability: Frankie’s decision to apologize to Brightman shows her grappling with the consequences of her actions, but her guilt is not yet transformative.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is the story’s most critical crisis point. Frankie’s suicide attempt and subsequent psychiatric hold force her to confront her mental health in a way she has avoided since Vietnam. The VA’s refusal to treat her underscores a national failure to support female veterans, a theme central to the novel. The chapter sets up Frankie’s eventual path to recovery by making clear that she cannot heal alone.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does the VA rap group leader refuse to let Frankie stay?
He believes that no women served in Vietnam and that her presence would make the men clam up. This reflects widespread ignorance and sexism that excluded female veterans from support networks.
What is the significance of Frankie’s hallucination of Finley?
Finley represents Frankie’s unresolved grief and her desire to escape her pain. Following him to the ocean suggests she is drawn toward death, but the rescue shows that a part of her still clings to life.
How does her father’s reaction change in this chapter?
He moves from anger and shame to fear and grief. In the ambulance, he is crying and admits he is afraid of what Frankie might do, signaling a shift from judgment to desperate concern.