InACorner: Both my parents were alcoholics & I feel for you. You don't need to follow in your father's footsteps. I basically had to separate myself from my father (My mother died when I was 15 &, yes, though it sounds terrible, it was a relief. She was also bipolar so she was in a lot of emotional anguish). I also longed for a real relationship with my father since he was the only parent I had left, but after years of pain I just realized he was incapable of loving me & that I shouldn't keep knocking my head against a brick wall. I needed to move on with my life & not continue my parents' legacy.--Suzy