What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day Summary | June, Chapters 1 and 2 Summary

Ava Johnson is a single black woman whose successful business and social life have been devastated by her diagnosis as HIV positive. Originally from Idlewild, Michigan, Ava has lived in Atlanta for ten years and enjoyed the benefits of being a successful black woman in a city known for its opportunities. As a hair salon owner, Ava has moved in the circle of people who appreciate style and will pay to possess it. Unfortunately, promiscuity is one of the facets of that lifestyle; Ava dislikes this part of her life, not only for the ultimate risk of her health, but also for the less-than-satisfying string of intimate encounters that she is forced to recall.

When the revelation of her health status makes it clear that her business and personal life will no longer thrive in Atlanta, Ava sells her salon and plans to move to San Francisco, with a stop on the way to spend time with her sister, Joyce, in Michigan. Ava is pleased that Joyce sounds positive about the visit, because Joyce's mental and emotional state has been precarious since her husband's death by drowning two years before. In addition to losing her husband, Joyce has also lost her two children, and Ava and Joyce's mother had committed suicide on the evening of Joyce's wedding. Ava and Joyce were both left to wonder what had led her to such a desperate state, and to hope that, by some grace, they would escape.