Customer Reviews

Adult Children of Alcoholics Syndrome: A Step By Step Guide To Discovery And Recovery

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book has brought light and understanding to the way I have felt most of my life. I thought I was going crazy. It is to the point and clearly shows the intergenerational impact of alcoholism on the family and you, Even if the active alcoholism was not in your immediate family (grandparents or great grandparents etc. were / are alcoholics) It removes any doubt and denial as to how damaging and far reaching the effects of alcoholism are. It also includes practical work for overcoming the feelings of anxiety, shame, and isolation. Adult children of alcoholics syndrome has been a Godsend for me. Facing the truth, pain and dysfunction caused by alcoholism in our family has restored my hope for an emotionally balanced and healthy future for my family and myself.

The discovery part was the most significant, because prior to this, I had no idea that I even had a problem.

I continue to recover, as we all do, but the book has made things so clear that the recovery process is zipping along. I keep expecting a big crash but so far, nothing. Right now, I feel like the second luckiest man in the world. I will be the luckiest on the day my wife realizes this is all for real and she can break her wall down that I forced her to build for protection.

I found the book at the Regina public library and after reading it, I needed to buy a copy for myself so I could use it for support for the rest of my life. Ironically, it was the last one available in our city and I was told it is no longer published. I needed a second copy as I gave mine to my sister who is also fighting her own battle.

If ANYONE in your family line has EVER been the child of an alcoholic...THIS IS A MUST READ FOR YOU! You'll learn how the child of an alcoholic carries the traits of the syndrome, ie lack of intimacy, lack of feelings, family myths etc. The biggest SHOCK was learning that THE CHILDREN WHO CHOOSE NOT TO DRINK.....CARRY THE SYNDROME AS WELL OR BETTER THAN THEIR SIBLINGS WHO MAY BECOME ALCOHOLICS THEMSELVES! LASTLY - REMEMBER THAT ALCOHOLISM IS NOT SOMETHING PEOPLE CHOOSE TO BE OR CHOOSE NOT TO BE..IT'S NOT WHO HAS THE WILLPOWER AND WHO DOESN'T...IF YOU HAVE ANY ALCOHOL ABUSE IN YOUR GENEOLOGY...READ THIS BOOK!

This book solved a painful problem for me. It helped me first to see beyond my abstinent parents to my grandparents' alcohol problems. Next it suggested that my father could leave the alcohol, but bring an intense behavior pattern from that context.

Finally, the classic "silence, denial, isolation, rigidity" matched exactly the symptoms that developed around the apparently unrelated situation of a paralyzing medical injury to my mother. To see this coming from my father unlocked my own personal history.

I read Kritsberg after both my parents were dead, but it has allowed me to begin dissolving my inherited patterns, revisiting my parents' lives with greater compassion, and feeling hope.

I refer to this book constantly. First read it in 1987. It provides and excellent tool for educating clients from alcoholic/dysfunctional families. The chapter on chronic shock is particularly enlightening. ACOAs reading it usually have an "aha" experience that leads to understanding and goes a long way toward problem resolution and new coping techniques.

ACOA Syndrome showed me the reasons behind the craziness in my life and taught me how to heal from it.

I've given out many copies of this book over the years. It's been the source of profound insight for people coming out of dysfunctional family systems. The first part of the book on "Discovery" seems especially helpful, some of the tecniques in the last "Recovery" part of the book will help some but not all. A "one size fits all" approach will have it's limitations, but this book has been the most useful in shedding light on this pervasive problrem so many have to deal with.

THE ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS SYNDROME by Wayne Kritsberg
It's a very helpfull book. Unlike so many other books on this issue it is very clear and well-organized. It is just a pleasure to read it. I am going to use some extracts from this book in my thesis paper on co-dependency.
The books which i read before mostly described the emotions of the authors, since most of the books on alcoholism are written by the adult children of alcoholics or alcoholics in recovery, and very often they are filled up with tiny little details and emotions which need to be treated by a therapist but i personally don't need to know about them, just because i have my own.
I have a lot of relatives who still live in denial and i believe that this book could be very helpfull for them as well, because it's not big, easy to read, logical and competent. The book does not judge or blame but explains. I love it.

I first read this book in 1986 as I was struggling to accept the fact that my father was an alcoholic. It helped me start to understand myself and begin a continuing journey of painful change. If I can leave no greater legacy to my children and their decendants it will be one of healthy understanding and acceptance of this insidious disease. I am still reading it and utilizing the applications it provides.

I suffered great emotional and physical abuse as the child of an alcoholic father. BUY THIS BOOK if you are or were in the same situation.
The outcome of reading this book and lots of therapy was a profound change in discovering why I reacted to life the way I did. Don't wait until you are in your forties like I did. Get help now!! I found out I suffer with PTSD-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have read many other books like this one. They all helped in one way or other. Now because of all the help I got for myself I'm doing much better. So get a therapist and read all the info on this subject you can. Its not your fault! But you can do something about those panic attacks,depression,and the way you react to the world. Also contact A.C.O.A. the Adult Children of Alcoholics on the web.