Perfect Daughters (Paperback)

~ Robert Ackerman (Author) "Once upon a time in the kingdom of childhood there lived a little girl..." (more)
Key Phrases: other adult daughters, many adult daughters, most adult daughters, Karen Blaker (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Dr. Ackerman addresses the 75 percent of people attending conferences for adult children of alcoholics--women. Through a combined narrative of professional and anecdotal styles, he hopes to restore a sense of balance in the lives of adult daughters of alcoholics.

About the Author

Robert J. Ackerman, Ph.D. , is Professor of Sociology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Training Institute. He is the author of A Husband's Little Black Book, A Wife's little Red Book, Before It's Too Late, and many others.. He is a founding board member of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: HCI (October 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558740406
• ISBN-13: 978-1558740402
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #503,759 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars insightful and inspiring, May 10, 2000

By A Customer

I've read many books on children of alcoholics. Don't be fooled by my four stars--I'm a harsh critic. In the various readings I've done, Dr. Ackerman combines the best of it all in his book--you'll find profiles of daughters so you can identify your own daughter role, descriptions of the holistic process of recovery, and inspiring words. My favorite tidbit in his book is the poem which begins, "After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul." If you're in the early stages of coping with the alcoholism of a parent, this book is for you! Although I am much younger than she, I recently mailed this book to my older sister. She is finally ready to come to terms with the disease and to let go of some of her anger. Mothers, it can be a wonderful gift to your daughters! I received it from my mother, and I've passed it on. Does "pass it on" sound familiar? Let the healing begin!

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An epiphany of understanding!, July 23, 2002

By	Carolyn (Münster, Germany) - See all my reviews

While my family was not one of staggering drunks and physical or overt verbal abuse, this books sheds light on why I feel the way that I do! It's easy to get turned off at first by the overt drunks experiences of many of the people's stories presented here if you yourself didn't experience that. The MOST valuable part of the book is a look at different personality traits that you may have developed during your not-so-normal childhood. This books points out the positive things that ACoA's have learned from their experiences and how to use those to our greatest advantage, while understanding and working on some of the traits we developed that are not useful to us as adults. I highly recommend this book - and that you read it several times!

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply extraordinary, very clear, complete and also witty, April 7, 1999

By A Customer

Not an easy book to be read but full of humanity, awareness and insight brought by all the personal experiences. I would highly recommend this reading not only to daughters of alcoholics and dysfunctional families but to everybody who wants to take her life in her hands.