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I once heard about two men, each raised by an alcoholic father. One had gone on to become an alcoholic himself and was in and out of prison, and the other was an upstanding citizen. When asked why they were the way they were, they both had the same answer: "With a father like mine, what else would you expect?"
According to the ministry of health 700,000 New Zealanders are heavy drinkers What happens when these problem drinkers return from the club, the pub and the party to their homes? What goes on behind closed doors? What damage is being done to our children? Developmental psychologists relate the crucial importance of love and attention in the formation of a child’s ego, identity, confidence and self-esteem. What happens when a parent regards alcohol as more important? How do these kids cope with the deprivation of emotional, material and educational support from parents who don’t have the money or the time to support them? With a Father Like Mine is one son’s story of growing up, in a family struggling with addiction. It deals with elements universal to all families caught up in the cycle of addiction: an abiding sense of inadequacy, the attraction of substance abuse, the repetition of role model behaviour. It tells of the price to be paid, the work to be done and the support needed from significant others for someone to break free from that insidious cycle of addiction. It is essentially a story of triumph despite adversity. This is a story of a man who grew up in provincial New Zealand, in a poor home, with family addiction threatening to seal his fate. This sweeping memoir is a story of tragedy and triumph, love and loss, struggle and success. With a Father Like Mine is a book that stirs the soul and provides inspiration and a ray of hope to all those suffering from family addiction. ‘Engrossing. Chamberlain writes fluently and has an ear for what is entertaining. . . He knows how to hustle the narrative along. It certainly is a rattling good read.’ — Matt Turner author of Rail: 150 Years of Rail in New Zealand |
