cover image Becoming Your Own

Becoming Your Own

Dennis Wholey. Doubleday Books, $17.95 (285pp) ISBN 978-0-385-24591-3

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. (October)