Editorial Review
Ten years ago, Janet Woititz broke new ground in our understanding of what it is to be an Adult Child of an Alcoholic. Today she re-examines the movement and its inclusion of Adult Children from various dysfunctional family backgrounds who share the same characteristics. After more than ten years of working with ACoAs she shares the recovery hints that she has found to work. Read Adult Children of Alcoholics to see where the journey began and for ideas on where to go from here.
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Customer Reviews
The mass market platform for understanding our world and our selves 
2008-02-25
In it's time, and for a very -long- time, this was what we had to go on. Woititz understood the dilemmas, the lost decades of our lives, the confusion that swung us hither and yon, and the loss of grasp of ourselves and the world around us that overwhelms the child of confusing, invalidating, ignoring, abandoning and abusive parenting. Though she framed it as she did, it is clear now that the 12 Step movement that sprang from her book includes the children of such parents regardless of their drinking or other substance abuse habits... or -lack- of them.
My own mother did not drink heavily until well into my own adulthood, but she was surely one of "them" throughout her life... and mine. She had Munchausen's by Proxy, and I was her medical punk. Today, I find it wholly and entirely possible to accept her as the daughter of those who confused the h**l out of -her-.
Wotitiz's 13 generalizations have opened the eyes of hundreds of thousands. Her work opened the floodgates of self-identification for Claudia Black, Melody Beattie, Patricia Evans and Pia Mellody, all of whom picked up the torch she inherited from Bill Wilson and Jimmy Kannon... and carried it to millions in the much larger Co-Dependents Anonymous 12 Step framework, as well as to those in "ACA." In a mere 118 pages, Woititz handed down a platform for recovery, as well as self-recognition. Her other work since then has put wheels under that platform, of course.
In 2006, the first- and second-wave veterans of ACA published another book by the same title currently available on from ACA itself. Building hugely upon Woititz's work, the new ACA "big red book" not only expands upon the original thesis and identifications, it takes them into territory Woititz and the psychophilosophers of her time were as yet far from. The new book is now, as the old book was then, breaking new ground in lay language similar to what we're hearing in professional language these days from Bruce Perry, John Preston, Neil Bockian and Glen Gabbard.
The ACA "book study" meeting I attend in the Victoria-era, university town of Redlands, California, began with Woititz, and has since moved on to the new book. I'm glad we did it that way. The new book is a very, -very- stiff dose of personal reality. I recommend it, but it occurs to me that it is -such- a stiff dose of reality that working up to it with the original of this same title makes a lot of practical - and emotional - sense. Recovery, after all, is not an event so much as a -process-.
A jam-packed powerhouse of a little book 
2008-02-10
I will simply say that if you are an adult from an alcoholic or a dysfunctional family, READ THIS BOOK. It's short, sweet, and to the point. Lots of books meander around wasting your time with fluff. This one doesn't. Every sentence of this short dynamo is filled with practical meaning. If you are noticing a lot of caretaking, obsessive behavior, dysfunction in relationships, etc., you may be stuck in destructive behavior patterns and dynamics rooted in an alcoholic or dysfunctional family of origin. This book quickly rips to the point. I'm a recovering alcoholic and an addictions counselor. I recommend this book to my clients who invariably love it.
Great tool as homework 2008-01-11
As a pastoral counselor, I have given many copies of this volume to ACOA clients in recent years. As a homework tool, I encourage them to read it and bring any observations they develop into the next few sessions. It has never failed to do exactly that.
An adjustable wrench 2007-12-12
This book was the first one that I ever read that helped me see that I not only had a problem with alcohol, but that I had a problem with living. This book showed that I wasn't the only one, and that there were people who might be able to help. At 29 years old, I should have been closing in on being a responsible adult, but there was very little evidence of that in my life. Especially, since, the first time that I read this book was the last time that I woke up in jail.
The list of characteristics in the foreword to the book has grown, but that's probably only because ACOAs have been found to have more in common than was known in the First Edition. This book, that list, and the glimmer of hope that I could have a life other than the one I was living, helped get me to where I am today. I'm still working toward becoming a full-fledged responsible adult, but I'm a lot closer than I've ever been.
Today, in my job, I work at being the kind of help I saw a glimmer of in this book. There are times when I'll "loan" it to someone if it seems that it might help. I know that it was probably the hardest book that I'd ever read at the time - mostly because there was a piece of me on every page. I saw an idea in the pages, that I may have inherited more than hair and eye color from my parents, but now that I was old enough - I couldn't blame anyone else for being the way that I was. And, if things were going to change, the chief responsibility was mine and no one else's. This month I will be celebrating 16 years sober.
If and only IF you are a child of an alcoholic the best read 2007-10-25
This hits home on page one and carries you all the way. ACA (Adult Child of an Alcoholic)must read. There is a reason 2 million copies were sold. Recommended 100% to anyone who grew up in a home like that.
Great Book 2007-09-21
Ten years ago, Janet Woititz broke new ground in our understanding of what it is to be an Adult Child of an Alcoholic. Today she re-examines the movement and its inclusion of Adult Children from various dysfunctional family backgrounds who share the same characteristics. After more than ten years of working with ACoAs she shares the recovery hints that she has found to work. Read Adult Children of Alcoholics to see where the journey began and for ideas on where to go from here.
Excellent insights 2007-09-10
This book was amazing. The insights into personality traits and situational details was extremely helpful. If you don't understand the issues, you cannot solve the problems and this book was very clear in describing some of the problems and how they came about when living as a child of (an) alcoholic(s). I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the issues that come about as a result of being an ACA without being too heavy-handed. I couldn't put the book down.
EPIPHANY! 2007-08-07
This is the grandmammy of all books written about, for and by Adult Children of Alcoholics. I first read this in 1987 and it was a personal epiphany. It held up a mirror to my beliefs and behaviour, explained a lot of things I didn't understand about myself, helped me realize that I was not alone and gave me hope that I could change my life. I recommend it to anyone who comes from an alcoholic or dysfunctional home.
It's a very basic book and one that is perfect for someone just beginning the recovery journey. It is also an excellent book to return to again and again.
Adult Children of Alcoholics 2007-03-17
Recommended by my Doctor, I was a little skeptical. But, It's really an invaluable read to anyone who has ever grown up or dealing with someone who is a child of alcoholism.
The book that changed my perception of myself... 2007-03-08
I am so glad I read that book. It saved me from a life without knowing myself. It helped me in so many ways. I would suggest this book to anyone and everyone. It is for someone who has dealt with addiction before.This book helps you deal with it in a child or a spousal way. Thank you
