A Million Little Pieces

James looks at himself in the mirror for the first time since entering the clinic. His face is a bloodied, swollen mess. He cannot bring himself to look into his own eyes.

James is assigned to clean the bathroom. Afterward, the clinic’s driver, Hank, takes him to his first appointment with a dentist. Like all the clinic’s staff, Hank formerly had addiction issues but is now sober. He tells James how his alcohol addiction led to the loss of his house. James learns he needs extensive dental surgery. On the drive back, he thinks about a young woman he still loves.

Back at the clinic, James is confronted by an angry middle-aged man, who claims that James calls him “Gene Hackman” every time they meet, warning him not to do it again. James cannot recall meeting the man before, but laughs because he does resemble Gene Hackman. The man becomes angrier, and James challenges him to a fight. Shocked, the man concludes that James is either stupid or extremely brave. Introducing himself as Leonard, he suggests they eat lunch together. Leonard reveals he is from Las Vegas and addicted to cocaine.

James is unmoved by a lecture where a woman describes losing her family and serving time in prison before she “devoted her life to God and to the Twelve Steps” (52).