Uneasy Home Life
After Dickinson’s father was sent home during WWI to care for his mother, his dreams were crushed. He wanted to be a saxophone player or a veterinarian, and he was sad that he didn’t get the life he wanted. Instead, her father became an alcoholic, which made life at home challenging.
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Later in life, Dickinson reflected that her father’s drinking problem gave her the drive to work hard so that she would never be stuck like him. Although she loved her father and knew how talented he was, his alcoholism created a life she never wanted.