Becoming Your Own Parent: The Solution for Adult Children of Alcoholic and Other Dysfunctional Families - Softcover

Wholey, Dennis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553347888 ISBN 13: 9780553347883

Publisher: Bantam, 1989

Synopsis

Explains how alcoholism in a parent can distort a childhood and shows how adults can recreate the nurturing they missed as children

About this title

From School Library Journal:

YA-- Wholey (author of The Courage to Change Houghton, 1984 ) has written a book which young people who are growing up in dysfunctional familiesneed to have readily available. Many professionals who have made an impact on this emerging field in counseling and therapy have contributed to this volume. Wholey first introduces 14 adult children of dysfunctional homes. These people are survivors, and their personal accounts represent reality in a refreshing and dynamic way. They demonstrate that all problems do not go away just because you grow up, leave home, and seem to have a successful career. The second section addresses issues such as self-worth, survival, compulsions and addictions, co-dependency, addictive relationships, and intimacy. Part III presents "The Solution" by discussing the very real challenge of asking for help, recovery issues, letting go of the past, becoming your own parent, having fun, and gaining affirmation. Wholey presents this much-needed information in a format which will interest and hold the attention of many young adults who need exposure to this topic in order to survive their own dysfunctional family life.-- Anne M. Perry, Klein Klein Intermediate School, Tex. KATAKIS, Michael. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 76p. photos. Crown. 1988. pap. $15.95. ISBN 0-517-57019-X . LC 88-7020. YA-- Quotes from Vietnam veterans and from relatives and friends of soldiers killed in action complement the many black-and-white photographs of visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The camera catches survivors seeking out and touching names, placing personal momentos, praying, grieving, and making connections with those lost in America's most unpopular war.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Wholey, a recovering alcoholic, author of The Courage to Change , etc., addresses adults who exhibit low self-esteem, guilt or are unable to form lasting relationships as a result of having been emotionally abandoned in childhood by one or both parents afflicted with dysfunctions like alcohol or drug abuse, workaholism, compulsive gambling and other disorders affecting sexuality, eating habits and the like. He records group therapy sessions in which 14 such "adult children" recount their painful stories and are counseled and react to the advice of experts. Recovery and avoiding repetition of the family pattern, according to Wholey, consists in shedding dependency and building a sense of self-worth, which, the author advises, also may be fostered by joining Children of Alcoholics (COA), Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families (ACDF) or similar groups. 75,000 first printing; major ad/promo; BOMC and Preferred Choice Book Club selections; author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0553347888
• ISBN 13: 9780553347883
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 285