Growing Up with Addiction

From the leading expert on adult children of addicts, an essential guide to healing wounds of growing up with addiction and family dysfunction “Required reading for understanding the full picture of recovery, repair, and reclaiming our true selves.”—Aimie Apigian, MD, author of The Biology of Trauma Approximately 76 million adults in the U.S. share a family history of addiction. In this urgently needed resource, Dr. Tian Dayton draws on decades of expertise to help adult children of addicts (ACAs) recover from family trauma, reconnect with themselves, and heal relational wounds. If you’ve grown up with a parent’s addiction, it can leave a profound imprint on your development. Its ripple effects reach into every corner of adulthood—how you partner, parent, work, and form friendships. “Relational trauma weaves into the fabric of your life, shaping how you see yourself and the world,” writes Dr. Dayton. “It can leave you questioning your worth, mistrusting intimacy, and feeling disconnected from your inner world.” But it doesn’t have to stay this way. This book helps you explore the illness that shaped your family, understand the imprint it left on you, and set out on a path towards inner and relational recovery. “Healing begins with learning to distinguish real danger from old, outdated alarms,” writes Dr. Dayton. “It requires tuning into your nervous system, tracing your automatic reactions, and gently questioning the distorted beliefs and fear states your wounds left behind.