Writer

“Parents Who Love in a Living Hell” is an interview by Laurie Ashner and Mitch Meyerson, published in the book When Parents Love Too Much: What Happens When Your Parents Won't Let Go.

Laurie Ashner (-2006) was a licensed psychotherapist, writer, and columnist for Chicago Life magazine. Mitch Meyers…

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Billy's father

In the interview, an unnamed man tells the story of his teenage son, Billy, and the problems he causes. Technically, the writers of the interview are Laurie Ashner and Mitch Meyerson. However, since the interview is a transcription of Billy’s father’s own words, in this section, we will focus on him and the story he tells. Interviews usually feature the voices of both the interviewer and the interviewee. Here, however, Ashner and Meyerson simply quote the man’s words without their intervention.

Irresponsible reactions

From the interview, we can conclude that Billy’s father has some irresponsible reactions regarding Billy’s behavior. For example, although it seems that he disapproves of Billy’s actions, his words indicate that he is more upset that Billy let himself be caught: “But I couldn’t believe Billy was stupid enough to speed around with open liquor in the car after curfew.” (p. 103, ll. 13-15); “My first thought was that it figures Billy was carrying the goods. It was just like him to be that stupid and allow all the rest of them to have their hands free to run away.” (p. 104, ll. 12-14). He also seems to imply that Billy was wrongfully arrested because he was not the driver (p. 103, l. 8). This attitude might encourage Billy to feel his punishments are not deserved.

Furthermore, he tells Billy that he used drugs as a teenager (p. 103, ll. 10-12), unaware of the fact that Billy might, therefore, feel encouraged to drink or disobey the rules. The father implies that being rebellious is a natural part of growing up and, therefore, encourages Billy to think that his actions are acceptable and normal.

Moreover, he does not let Billy experience the consequences of his actions: he writes notes to excuse Bil…