Abandonment

Tobias Wolff suffered for much of his formative years from the abandonment of him by his father. Abandonment is regrettably a common issue that faces families in today's world. As is often the case, Wolff's mother stuck by her children while their father took off. Wolff struggled with the absence of his father for many years. It was one of the compelling reasons that he joined the army. He wanted to not only prove to the world and perhaps most importantly to himself, that he had value and purpose. His father was a conman and a thief and was serving time in prison during the delicate years that Tobias the boy was becoming Tobias the man.

Like many boys in similar circumstances, he would have loved to seek his father's guidance about what to do with his life. Even though Stu Hoffman's father was obnoxious and overbearing, Wolff...