A middle-aged writer-turned-community center professor finds her already scarce writing time in jeopardy when her husband’s mother suffers a drug overdose.

A disgruntled writer returns to his small suburban town for what will likely be his last time seeing his ill father.

When the father of her baby overdoses, a young mother with a crippling drug addiction hits rock bottom much faster than she thought possible. All the while, she must take care of her son and figure out how to survive.

An alcoholic housewife struggles with her family obligations and her addiction.

A woman addicted to narcotics works as a waitress and fixes up her apartment in hopes of getting back her son from foster care after throwing him against a wall.

A drug counselor grows anxious about leaving her career in New York City and moving upstate, where she will dedicate herself to her partner and daughter.

A woman's complicated relationship to her mother is captured in three vignettes: one from directly after her death, one from when she is still alive, and one from years after she is gone.

A woman married to a much older man feels miserable during pregnancy, having abandoned frequent alcohol consumption, insecure about her husband's obsession with his ex-wife, a dead political poet, and missing her carefree youth. When she finally gives birth, she begins to see her aging husband as disgusting and infant-like and begins to contemplate divorce.

In the late 20th century, an aging couple's daughter returns to live with her parents in an attempt to flee her failing marriage. While the mother easily slips back into her maternal role, the arthritic father struggles to empathize with his youngest child, and, in his increasing frustration, commits an unforgivable act that isolates him from his family.

A father facing mental and physical debilitations has his sights set on capturing a drop of sunlight to bring joy to everyone in his small hometown. Despite his good deed, the town finds it necessary to deliberate: is this man an alcoholic, mentally ill, or a criminal?