I Come From a Broken Family

My dad was a drinker, he was never home when the pubs were open. My mum left him when I was 5 years old and for the next 12 years I saw him on Sundays and after that he opted out of parenting altogether. Whatever else we did on that day he always had a 'little drink' first. When I got a bit older I decided to make contact with him again. The 'little drink' had gotten bigger and there was less of anything else. He was very critical of the fact that I had become a christian and said it was obviously due to 'brainwashing' from my mother. It was not a very warm welcome. A boy needs a dad in his life. His absence from most of it is a part of what triggered my search for meaning and purpose beyond our brave new world. My story is not uncommon. A half of all marriages today end in divorce but the frequency of family breakdown does not make it normal. It is hard on everyone but especially rough on the kids. Older family members have other ways of coping that kids have not had time to develop. Many of the dumb things I did as a teenager and a young man that I am embarrassed to admit to now, I probably would not have done if I had experienced a secure home life. Divorcing parents can be overwhelmed by their own problems but if you don't look after your own kids who else do you think is going to do it?