alcoholic fathers

"While she battles her own demons during the day, Indigo's nights are haunted by something much darker. Everyone else may be enjoying the summer, but Indigo's life isn't going so well. Her dad's marriage just ended in a very public divorce, and now he's drinking again. Indy barely graduated from high school, she just lost her job, and she doesn't know what to do with her life. The stress is causing her nightmarish sleep paralysis--or so she thinks. Indy confides in her best friend, Kasia, who blames 'The Mare' for her troubles--the spirit of someone wronged that saps its victim's energy at night. It sounds crazy to Indy, but is it?"--Provided by publisher.

"For Georgia, this summer is shaping up to be a big disappointment. Mama is busy studying for her biology degree. Daddy is working nights, and often the man who comes home isn't Daddy. He's a man who looks like Daddy, but walks a little wobbly. Who sounds like Daddy, but sings a little too loud. Georgia calls him the Shadow Man. So now, instead of riding horses with her friends at camp, Georgia is sent off to the country to stay with her mysterious great-aunt for the summer to avoid her parents' fighting. There, a lonely Georgia meets a mysterious friend named Angela and together, they discover a magical lake--one that can make wishes come true. At first, the lake offers Georgia a thrilling escape from her worries and hope that she can use its magic to heal her family. But as things grow worse at home, a troubled boy appears at the lake and the wishes threaten to spiral out of control..."--From the publisher's web site.

Leonard Chang had a tumultuous and fractured childhood due to an alcoholic father and a parental divorce. A moving account of his preadolescence and the situations he encountered that helped him find his way successfully through adolescence and become the person and writer he is today.