riley's father returned from the war partially paralyzed. he was unable to continue working in his legal practice, and the family soon fell into financial distress. the war's negative affects soon caused his relationship with his family to deteriorate. he opposed riley's interest in poetry and encouraged him to find a different career. the family finances finally disintegrated. they were forced to sell their town home in april 1870 and return to their country farm. riley's mother was able to keep peace in the family, but after her death in august from heart disease, riley and his father had a final break. he blamed his mother's death on his father's failure to care for her in her final weeks. he continued to regret the loss of his childhood home. he wrote frequently of how it was so cruelly snatched from him by the war, subsequent poverty and his mother's death. after the events of 1870, he developed an addiction to alcohol and struggled with it for the rest of his life.