From the Publisher
One of the gifts of what we have come to learn about people raised in chemically dependent families is that it has offered extremely useful information for people raised in other types of troubled families as well. Whether or not you were raised in an addictive family system, It Will Never Happen To Me may very well offer a framework to understand your situation. We have long recognized that people raised with physical and sexual aabuse strongly identify as if they were raised with addiction. People raised with mental illness, ranging from schizophrenia to depression, to raging parents, frequently identify with adult child issues. People raised with parents afected by chronic health issues, physical challenges, as well as those raised by an adult child (an adult child who may not manifest an addiction, but the thinking and behavior is often characteristic of an addict) may also identify. The connecting thread between these different types of families is experienc! ing chronic loss that fuels emotional isolation, rigidity, or shame.
Whatever the circumstances, when you come from a history of loss, it is like being a first cousin to the person raised with addiction. Therefore, if this information can benefit others raised in troubled families, this is an added gift.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
From the Author
While hundreds of thousands of people are in recovery from chemical dependency, codependency, and adult child issues, our communities continue to be impacted by addiction. Heroin, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and marijuana use is rampant throughout our communities. But historically, the number one abused drug is alcohol.
While the focus of this book will remain on homes where alcohol is the primary drug, it is my hope the reader will see similarities in other substance abusing families. The commonalities will be living with extremes, living with the unknown, or the fears. It is the living in a system where the addiction has become central to the family and the needs of the individual family members become secondary to the needs of the addict and his or her addiction.
This book is meant to offer a foundation for understanding what occurred growing up in an addictive family and to offer hope for recovery. I want to acknowledge each and every one of you who have ever thought, spoken, believed and hoped "it will never happen to me." Because of that conviction, and because of your impact on me, together we have the possibility of creating a different journey for ourselves and others.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
