Book I, Part I - Desolation in Solitude: Chapters 20 - 24 Summary

Kerouac wakes from a dream in the middle of the night. A former lover, Maggie Cassidy, fills the author's thoughts. Maggie is the one woman that Kerouac might have married. What would the author's life be like if he had married Maggie? A "little ramshackle Irish rose cottage" in New England would be the family home. Kerouac would work as a "bebaseballhatted brakeman" in the cold New England night. Maggie's daughters would live in the cottage and altogether, they would be a family. Kerouac wonders if Maggie is too old for him. Would there ever be one who loves him?

Kerouac sits cross-legged on the top of Desolation Peak and takes time to enjoy the sight of the golden half moon and its reflection on...