How is Mack impacted by his childhood experiences?

Mack was born in the Midwest, but he left his family home at the age of thirteen because his father was an alcoholic who abused his wife and children. One of main reasons, in fact, that Mack was unable to connect with religion before visiting the shack was that his father abused the family. As a result, Mack found it difficult to trust fathers, and perhaps male authority figures in general. After running away, Mack traveled the world and fought in a war, though Young does not know which. Mack eventually attended seminary in Australia and then moved to Oregon, where he reunited with his mother and sisters, married a woman named Nan, and settled down.