My wife Deborah R.N. and I have been evaluating and treating ACOAs in my psychiatric practice for many years. For any new patients who are not aware of ACOA patterns, we recommend Dr. Black's book. After reading it patients that they feel that the book has been written about them. My wife is an ACOA who has heard Dr. Black speak and she feels that her insights and suggestions are excellent. We both feel that this is the first book any ACOA should read and that it is the bible for understanding ACOA patterns.

Doug Bey M.D.

This book was a requirement for my Drug and Alcohol Awareness Class. It was a VERY easy and QUICK read. Completely informative and so helpful. Very well written!!!

Still the best introduction to the impact of chemical dependency on the family. I must give about 5 copies of this away to my students every year.

This is a great read for anyone who has grown up or is growing up in an alcoholic family. It helps the reader in very simple ways to understand the dynamics of alcoholic families and offers concrete ways of dealing with issues and problems. I recommend it to anyone currently dealing with alcoholism or dealing with the aftermath of an alcoholic upbringing, or even for someone just curious about the effects of alcoholism on families.

This book was recommended by my therapist and after reading it I gave it to a friend who is also an adult child of an alcoholic. I haven't got the book back so I'm buying another copy for myself. I NEED to read it again and again. It opened my eyes and put a lot of the pieces of the puzzle together for me. Although it's hard to face some of the realities this book points out, I believe it to be one of the vital steps I am taking in trying to change my life for the better. It's never too late.