Ed grows up with his mom, grandma and great-grandma, but no father. He fears his grandma, who is mean to him and his mother. At ten he is addicted to alcohol. At thirteen he drops out of school, addicted to drugs. He and his drug friends take over the house. Ed is violent. He steals his mother’s car, breaks into a gas station and goes to jail but not for long. He forges his grandma’s checks and goes to jail for six months. His mother becomes delusional and Ed trashes his grandma’s house, so they are evicted. He becomes a vagabond for ten years, roaming the country, a drunk who fears both death and life. He begs at a church and hears the gospel. The first part ends as he hits the road again, unsaved.