I was given the gift of physical sobriety. I did not have to work for it. I though I was dying; literally. I had been drinking for over thirty years and thought I had liver damage. It turned out to be something else. Not life threatening. But it still scared me straight.

Adult Children of Alcoholics - How To Be Happy

By Lisa A. Romano

When you are the adult child of an alcoholic or the product of being raised by one, you can't quite put your finger on what's wrong. All you know is you feel ill, inappropriate; like a misfit.

As we age, our ego has never learned to trust this place we call home, and so--ego grows.

So often we ACoA get caught up in feeling all the feelings of the past, that we sometimes get stuck in what once was. In fact, sometimes we get so caught up in how we used to feel, we forget that we aren't powerless anymore. As a recovering ACoA I have learned to embrace my past as a gift. Because I am an ACoA I was forced to look within for answers, and as a result I found the greatest blessings ever. I found--ME.

Hi,

My name is Jody and I have 15months sober.

In Step Six I contemplate my life undergoing change-tremendous change. The great fear is this: If I shed many characteristics that stand in my way, what will be left? It is as though I face a great void, a terrifying unknown. Yet when I acknowledge how far I have come, I can see how much I want to change. The desire to grow and to heal has brought me to this uncomfortable point, because I am tried of the way I have been. My Higher Power is there to guide me when I am ready.