Chronology
1 year, 4 months, 3 days
The book runs on two clocks. One counts forward from June 9, 1989. The other walks back through the boyhood that led there. Every date below comes from a chapter heading.
June 9, 1989. Intake, age fourteen.
1989–1990. Phases, setbacks, host homes.
October 12, 1990. Graduation: one year, four months and three days after intake.
The boyhood clock
The program clock
Show the full chronology (contains story details)
A.0 The anchor: the author's own dates
(Epilogue, in the author's own words):
Obadiah Jude Arthur — Obie 1 ("Obie the Arts") Born: September 23, 1974 Died: June 9, 1989
Obadiah Jude Arthur — Obie 2 Born: June 9, 1989 Died: TBD
September 23, 1974 was a Monday. The entire book's age arithmetic keys off this date, and it checks out in every chapter heading.
A.1 The two interleaved tracks
The book runs two tracks in alternation — 39 "Straight" chapters and 38 "Flashback" chapters, plus the Epilogue:
| Track | Chapters | Span | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight (present) | 1, 3, 5 … 75 (odd) | June 9, 1989 → October 12, 1990 | The program, in near-real time. 1 year, 4 months, 3 days. |
| Flashback (past) | 2, 4, 6 … 76 (even) | 1982 → June 6, 1989 | The boy who walked through the doors. |
| Epilogue | 77 | Undated (post-graduation) | The life after — the bridge into Book 2 territory. |
The last four Flashback chapters (68, 70, 72, 76) are all dated June 6, 1989 — the three final free days before intake. The book deliberately walks backward to them: it ends its chapter sequence on THE TREE (Ch76), three days before intake, closing with "Three days later, my parents found me at the Brookline Hills T stop. I was fourteen years old." — the same line that opens Chapter 1. The book's final image is the boy just before Straight takes him.
A.2 Flashback track — chapter-by-chapter dates
The flashbacks themselves fall in three layers:
Layer 1 — Deep family history:
- Ch66 THE FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES — Late 1960s–1973 (parents'/grandparents' generation)
- Ch62 INHERITANCE — 1940s–1989 (family inheritance across decades)
Layer 2 — Boyhood, 1982–1988: | Chapter | Title | Date | Age | |---|---|---|---| | 6 | ELLIOT | Summer 1982 | 7 | | 4 | DOBIE | Spring 1983 | 8 | | 18 | YOUNG BROTHERS | Summer 1983 | 8 | | 56 | THE FIRST TIME | Summer 1984 | 9 | | 58 | DALLAS | November 1985 | 11 | | 60 | BAG OF BOOZE | December 31, 1985 | 11 | | 34 | THE STAIRS | 1986 | 11 or 12 (heading flags it — see audit) | | 64 | THE BALLOON | April 1987 | 12 | | 44 | THE NOTE | October 1986 | 12 | | 12 | NEVERMORE | Summer 1987 | 12 | | 74 | LESLIE | January 24, 1988 | 13 | | 26 | THE POOL | May 1988 | 13 | | 2 | SHICK | June 1988 | 13 | | 50 | LEATHER BOUND | June 1988 | 13 | | 8 | THE FIRST TWO BOYS | June 28, 1988 | 13 | | 22 | THE WATERFALL | Late July 1988 | 13 | | 48 | WE ALL HAVE WINGS | Summer 1988 | 13 | | 10 | NEW UNIFORM | Fall 1988 | 14 | | 14 | AH MEN | Fall 1988 | 14 | | 16 | THE GIRL OUT FRONT | October 1988 | 14 | | 20 | POTENTIAL | November 1988 | 14 | | 24 | COMPLICIT | Late November 1988 | 14 | | 28 | FIRST NIGHT | December 31, 1988 | 14 | | 30 | FIRST DAY, FOR THE SECOND TIME | January 1989 | 14 | | 32 | FLOATER | January 1989 | 14 | | 36 | FRIDAY NIGHT | January 1989 | 14 | | 38 | AFTERMATH | January 1989 | 14 | | 40 | PINO'S | February 1989 | 14 | | 42 | OBIE THE ARTS | March 1989 | 14 | | 52 | THE PIZZA INCIDENT AT NADIA'S | April 1989 | 14 | | 54 | RECKONING | April 1989 | 14 | | 46 | DANA KAPLAN'S PARTY | Early Spring 1989 | 14 |
Layer 3 — The last free days:
- Ch68 THE TIERNEY CENTER, Ch70 THE TAKING, Ch72 WINDOWS, Ch76 THE TREE — all June 6, 1989, age 14. Three days before intake.
Driscoll graduation — June 1988: Chapter 1 recalls 8th-grade graduation night ("white linen suit and a bolo tie, trying to look like Don Johnson from Miami Vice… mousse and too much Drakkar Noir") and says "since I graduated Driscoll last June" — i.e., June 1988, at age 13. The summer of 1988 (Shick basketball with Jack and Theo, the Circle, Solene and Priya) follows; Xaverian in fall 1988; "first day, for the second time" January 1989.
A.3 Straight track — the program timeline
| Date | Day | Chapter | Event / phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 9, 1989 | Friday | 1 THE CIRCLE CLOSES | Intake. First Phase. Age 14. "My parents found me at the Brookline Hills T stop. I was fourteen years old." |
| June 9, 1989 | Friday | 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 | Intake day, in sequence: The Space Between, Evans Drive, Reception, The Other Two Boys, The Wrong Questions, Group, Love Ya Obie, Family Rap, Ride to Mashpee, Bend and Cough |
| June 12, 1989 | Monday | 23 MONDAY, 25, 27 | First full week: Monday, The Road Behind, First Night |
| June 13, 1989 | Tuesday | 29, 31 | Charlie Hustle, Tuesday |
| June 1989 | — | 33 LEARNING | First Phase grind |
| Summer 1989 | — | 35 ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL | — |
| July 1989 | — | 37 THE FIRST TIME | — |
| Late July 1989 | — | 39 T&R | T&R earned — first supervised contact with parents |
| Late July–Aug 25, 1989 | — | 41 THE DANCE | — |
| August 25, 1989 | Friday | 43 COMING HOME | Second Phase earned. Advancement night: Rick calls his name, he shouts "COMING HOME!" and runs the aisle to his parents — the Friday-night advancement ritual (rulebook §6) |
| August 28, 1989 | — | 45 FALSE POSITIVE | Second Phase, weekends home begin |
| September 23, 1989 | Saturday | 47 WORK YOUR PROGRAM | 15th birthday, on Second Phase. "I celebrated my fifteenth birthday on Second Phase." (Ch47; heading reads "September 23, 1989 - Age 15") — Saturday matches the later line "Just another Saturday in Second Phase" |
| October 11, 1989 | — | 49 THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS, 51 BELLA | Second Phase. Brookline High by day, Straight after school — "I lived two lives, and they never overlapped." |
| November 17, 1989 | Friday | 53 SETBACK, 55 SISYPHUS, 57 NORTHBRIDGE | Set back to First Phase, effective immediately. "Effective immediately," he said, "you are set back to First Phase." — "This is not punishment," he said. "This is consequence." / "You are being set back because fear is running you." Three chapters render the same day from different angles |
| November 24, 1989 | — | 59 JESS | First Phase again |
| November 30, 1989 | — | 61 THE SCENT OF SHAME | — |
| December 4, 1989 | — | 63 THE DECISION | — |
| Late Nov–Dec 15, 1989 | — | 65 IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS | Second Phase re-earned (December, before Christmas): "You've earned Second Phase," Carol tells him — "You'll be going home for Christmas. You'll take a newcomer with you." (Matt Bianchi) |
| February 26, 1990 | Monday | 67 THE BOOK OF OBADIAH | Third Phase. "Matt made Second Phase the same week I made Third." Oldcomer Aaron from Vermont now lives at the house |
| Spring 1990 | — | 69 HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL | Third Phase |
| Late June 1990 | — | 71 GOODBYE | Fourth Phase — "I made Fourth Phase in early May" (i.e., early May 1990) |
| September 1990 | — | 73 FINAL FIRST DAY | Fifth Phase. "We both made Fifth Phase." Back at school full-time; AA/NA meetings, sponsor before graduation |
| October 12, 1990 | Friday | 75 GRADUATION | Graduation, age 16. "1 year, 4 months, 3 days. Shorter than most." Friday-night Open Meeting ceremony. Rick offers junior staff — part-time rap leader, same as Trevor, minimum wage: "I said yes without much thought." |
June 9, 1989 → October 12, 1990 = exactly 1 year, 4 months, 3 days. The manuscript's own count is exact.
Phase ladder, verified sequence: First (June 9, 1989) → T&R (late July 1989) → Second (Aug 25, 1989) → setback to First (Nov 17, 1989) → Second again (Dec 1989) → Third (~Feb 26, 1990) → Fourth (early May 1990) → Fifth (Sept 1990) → Graduation (Oct 12, 1990).
Note the speed of the second climb: set back November 17, back on Second Phase by Christmas — about five weeks, versus nearly three months for the first climb.