Alcoholism--As Seen Through A Child's Eyes

CHICAGO, IL, October 24, 2012 (Press-News.org) In The Drunkard's Son, award-winning author Dennis Foley shares his moving story about life in 1960s and '70s Chicago with his alcoholic father. Foley intertwines humorous and sad stories about his misadventures with his father Jack, who eventually succumbed to alcoholism in a tuberculosis sanitarium at the age of 43. The insight Foley gives into life with an alcoholic parent is one that only an insider can offer.

"I was 12 when my father died," Foley said. "He was a good man, a man with faults like any other, but he just couldn't shake loose of the booze. I have five brothers and sisters and my father's absence, both while he was alive and after his death, is something that has affected us all in a variety of ways."

'Affect' is the key word here. Foley's book confirms that the influence of living with an alcoholic parent lingers long after the parent is gone. Like father like son. Three years following his father's death, Foley himself was nearly stabbed to death in a drunken alley fight as a high school sophomore, spending 10 days in a hospital ICU. That's where Foley, the author, picks up the story, as his 15-year-old self, flashing back from his hospital bed to the events of his youth that led him to that alley.

Aside from drawing fans of a quality memoir, The Drunkard's Son has developed a large following from recovering alcoholics, children and spouses of alcoholics, and others who have lived with those with addictions.

"I've received numerous emails and letters and I've had talks with people who have also been in my shoes," Foley said. "A couple of mothers told me that their young sons were inspired by the book because it let them know that you could make it out of tough situations like that and still turn out okay. They felt a sense of hope."

The odd agents who weave their way across Foley's pages make for a fantastic read. Stories such as "The Fish House," where Foley acts as his father's accomplice during a drunken heist at a pet shop, and "Naked Ladies" will delight readers, while stories like "Mike the Cat" and "Darts" may invoke nightmares. The strengths and weaknesses of the City of Chicago are also seen through the eyes of this young narrator. These are the stories of Chicago's neighborhoods, corner taverns, families, and the quirky people who inhabit all of these.

The Drunkard's Son is available at independent bookstores, in print and electronic format from Amazon.com, and through the publisher at www.sidestreetpressinc.com.

Founded in 2011, Side Street Press is a small Chicago small press focusing on work featuring the City of Chicago prominently in its pages.