Never Like My Father: Childhood Trauma, Family Addiction, and One Sacred Promise

“Dear God, I will never, ever, EVER be like my father. I will never drink. I will never hurt people. I will never make my children scared. I promise. Amen.”

On Easter morning, six-year-old Olivia Parker is on her knees in a cramped Ohio bathroom, wiping vomit off her father’s shirt while he shakes on the toilet. In that moment, she makes a sacred promise: she will grow up to be the opposite of this man.

Never Like My Father, Book 1 of The Daughter of a Drunk series, follows twelve years of trying to keep that impossible vow. Olivia teaches her little brother where to hide when her father’s footsteps turn dangerous, juggles two broken households, shields her mother, and becomes the straight-A “good girl” everyone can rely on. If she’s perfect, maybe the chaos will finally stop.

But perfection has a cost. As her father’s drinking escalates and the family shatters, Olivia learns that loving an alcoholic means carrying secrets that refuse to stay buried, and that walking away from him can break your heart and save your life at the same time.

Step onto the bathroom floor beside her. One sacred promise and a girl determined not to break it.