Adult Children of Alcoholics & Dysfunctional Families (ACA) defines a dysfunctional family as one in which emotional safety, consistency, and healthy boundaries were absent or unreliable. In these families, children often grew up adapting to chaos, emotional neglect, addiction, mental illness, or rigid control rather than being supported in developing a secure sense of self. ACA emphasizes that dysfunction is not limited to families affected by alcohol use; it also includes homes where feelings were minimized, needs were unmet, roles were distorted, or authentic expression was unsafe. As a result, many adult children carry survival-based patterns—such as hypervigilance, people-pleasing, emotional withdrawal, or self-criticism—into adulthood, often without recognizing their origins in early family dynamics.
CA Fellowship Text, or “Big Red Book” (BRB), is the core guide for Adult Children of Alcoholics. Written anonymously by members, it adapts AA’s Twelve Steps to address the lasting effects of childhood trauma and dysfunction. The BRB offers hope, understanding, and tools for healing, helping adults overcome harmful survival traits and build healthier relationships.
A New Hope: ACA Beginner’s Handbook is a clear, structured guide for newcomers to Adult Children of Alcoholics, combining essential program tools, topic summaries, engaging questions, and core ACA materials. Designed to reduce overwhelm and support early recovery, it helps individuals begin healing from childhood trauma, connect with others, and prepare for deeper program work.
Connections is a practical ACA guide to understanding and building healthy support relationships in recovery. Born from a request to clarify the roles of fellow travelers and sponsors, it expands into insights on trust, boundaries, and mutual responsibility. Offering guidance for both seekers and supporters, it helps navigate challenges, strengthen connections, and foster meaningful healing relationships.
The Loving Parent Guidebook is a practical ACA resource for learning to “become your own loving parent” and reclaim your inner child with gentleness, humor, and respect. Structured in four parts, it guides readers from awakening the loving parent to deepening reparenting skills, building a loving inner home, and making reparenting a way of life. With fellowship shares, reflective exercises, guided practices, and creative activities, it offers tools for personal growth and healthier relationships in all areas of life.
Strengthening My Recovery is a daily meditation book for Adult Children of Alcoholics, offering 365 reflections paired with quotes from the ACA Fellowship Text. Written by and for the fellowship, it provides daily inspiration, insight, and encouragement for healing and growth.
The Laundry Lists Workbook expands on the “Other” or Opposite Laundry List from the ACA Fellowship Text, offering concise questions to help adult children revisit and process episodes of shame, guilt, anger, and other effects of childhood trauma. It provides a structured path for healing, breaking patterns of emotional intoxication, and fostering lasting recovery.
The Twelve Steps of Adult Children Workbook is a comprehensive guide for working the ACA Twelve Steps through detailed exercises and questionnaires. Designed for use in one-on-one Fellow Traveler (sponsorship) relationships or group study settings, it offers practical tools to deepen self-awareness, address the effects of childhood trauma, and foster lasting emotional recovery. This workbook supports members in applying the Steps to real-life experiences, building healthier relationships, and nurturing personal growth.
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