Father Figure Author:Beverly Nichols John Nichols, Beverly's father and the central figure of this unflinchingly candid autobiography, was not merely a hopeless alcoholic: he enslaved his wife and three sons with his wife and three sons with a calculated malice that extended to all with whom he came into contact. For forty years he drank, dissipating his fortune, wrecking his home,... more » destroying, tothe best of his ability, the lives of those who might hve loved him.« less