Daddy Dearest: Tales of Terror and Glorious Schadenfreude

by Violet Wilson

You cannot love someone and fear them — at least not at the same time. As a child, though, it seemed normal to Violet to ricochet between the two, depending on whether he was drunk or not, or just simmering with resentment over an imagined slight. But as she grows, so does her own resentment, although she knows better than to let it show. On the upside, the constant dread of his next night of rage intensifies her glee each time he makes a fool of himself. For a while that's enough, but as time goes on, he spirals further out of control, until the night she's always known was coming. Something has to change; someone has to be an adult, and there's no one left but 16-year-old Violet. In fiction, that would be the uplifting end of the story; real life isn't so tidy.

72 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 27, 2012

Reviews

[Jason Vincent Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant and Taut

A well-crafted and unapologetic look at the human emotion in its response to dysfunction. While young Violet's world bounded to a slow-swirling rage around her, she retained a stoicism and strength that helped her move beyond -- but never fully away. The story reveals its final, unexpected twist with the deftness of a classic thriller, providing a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of human emotion and the connections of kin.