As Sparks Fly Upward is about a young man's inability to come to terms with the death of his father. Joe Duncan's father was an alcoholic, and Joe is well on the ways of becoming one himself. His hometown's condemnation of what happened to his father along with the unwillingness to provide his father with a decent funeral turns Joe against that community. He learns not to trust even those that do care for him. Joe's rejection of organized religion is tied to his distaste of the small-mindedness of a community that wouldn't accept someone like Joe or Joe's father into its circle.