Michael P. (a.k.a. Paulie) Nassedrine, father of the protagonist of my unpublished novel The Leave-Takers, might be the most genuine father of all those I've created––at least in terms of how fully he embodies the things that frightened me most about my father: alcoholism, violence, and a surreptitious insanity that seems to spring out of nowhere. 

He's a shadowy figure in the book, haunting from afar as Jacob falls in love, marries, and tries to start a family. Very autobiographical stuff, as I was going through the same thing at the same time. Trying to reconcile the father in my past before I could become a father in my future. 

It was my main project from around 2003-2009. Without The Leave-Takers, which was like dipping my toe into the waters of wrestling with father thing, I wonder if I would have ever been able to take the plunge into daddylabyrinth. Whether it ever gets published or not, it opened a door and I will always love it.