This copy ex library.

A starkly beautiful and inspirational true story of the power of love - and how hope can be found in the darkest places. As a boy growing up in during the Depression, Cliff Nichols watched alcohol rob his mother of her hope, her beauty, her life. And he vowed he'd never touch a drop. Until one night, at the age of nineteen, he said to a mate, 'One beer can't hurt, can it?' By the age of thirty-six Cliff is homeless, shattered and walking skid row. His talents and dreams in ruins, his life has become an endless round of drinks in dingy inner city hotels and flophouses, parks, railway platforms and even gutters. And by his side is his small daughter Helen. The unwavering love of Helen and the loyalty and support of his father sustain Cliff throughout his long and heartbreaking battle with alcohol. Finally, he finds the courage to not only break the cycle of alcoholism but the cycle of his loneliness and fear. As he begins to rebuild his shattered life, Cliff meets a woman whose love brings the healing, inner peace and sense of belonging he has been searching for all his life.