What was family life like

My father swung between being kind and considerate to being enraged. It was not unknown for him to get ext6remely angry with a small matter. He would pick up a chair in the kitchen shouting, screaming and threatening me as a small child.
My mother would sit by not doing very much.
It was also common for him to storm off up to his office or get in his car and drive off for the afternoon after losing his temper.
As my sister said "He behaved like a small child." - and by the way my sister and I were small children. So there we were havng to be the adults while daddy lost his rag and mummy went silent.
I remember on an occasion when he returned from work - I asked "Daddy how are you" - "Shut up!" he screamed sitting in front of the television. My mother said "Let Daddy watch the news".
My mother was so caught in depression that she would sleep her afternoons away or would spend her time cooking - she was a very good cook.