Nick Hammer

The Drunkard Nick Hammer

Writing from prison, Tally Edmunds tells how, in the middle of her college freshman year, her mother dies from an aggressive form of cancer. Tally is grief-stricken and feels tremendous guilt for not having stayed home to take care of her mother, and she begins to drink. The day after her final exams Tally is abducted and raped. She doesn't report the crime to anyone, but leaves school to seek refuge in her mother's empty house where she drunkenly passes the days watching old movies on television. When Tally finds that she has become pregnant from her assault, her depression deepens as she agonizes over whether or not to keep the child. Her excessive drinking then leads to an unexpected and tragic event.