Article December 16, 2002 ISSUE

I finally knew my REAL dad

By Ginny Luedeman

When Dad was sober , he was wonderful—bright, full of great ideas. He made us all smile and laugh. But when he drank, life with him was hell. He was physically and emotionally abusive. He couldn't hold a job, so we moved almost every year. And a lot of the time, we lived off the charity of others.

For much of my childhood, my dad had a drinking problem. He was a World War II veteran, carrying the weight of horrendous wartime memories. Later, when he lost a brother in a car accident, his pain was more than he could bear. Dad had grown up in an era when real men didn't cry. So he tried to dull his pain by drinking. Mother always told us that Dad was ill. Somehow that made it easier to forgive him.

About the author

Ginny Luedeman is a Christian Science practitioner living in Salem, Oregon. She enjoys outdoor activities with her husband, Craig, and their large and close family.

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