Is there a silver lining to growing up in a dysfunctional family? Twenty-four survivors recount their stories—and the strengths forged in the chaos. Living in a dysfunctional family isn’t easy. But while you can’t choose where you come from, you can choose the lessons you take away. Bestselling recovery author Karen Casey looks at stories of people who grew up in dysfunctional families and “the good stuff” that can, ironically, come from the experience. She interviews survivors who emerged from the fires of turbulent households affected by abuse, addiction, or other problems, and reveals how they came to process their often-harrowing personal trials and, against the odds, triumph over their difficulties—using skills they honed in response to their childhoods. In The Good Stuff from Growing Up in a Dysfunctional Family, Casey reveals the stories and the skills they developed to live more creative and fulfilling lives, and not just survive but thrive. “Using her interviews as groundwork, she explores the benefits that result from surviving in a dysfunctional family, including resiliency, perseverance, a sense of humor, forgiveness, kindness, and the ability to discern real love.” —Publishers Weekly “You just can’t go wrong with Karen Casey.” —Earnie Larson, author of Stage II Recovery

My book, Secrets of a Dysfunctional Family, is inspired on a true story about the struggle of three sisters’ determination to overcome the odds of drama as children who also were physically, mentally, and emotionally abused and were betrayed by their family. Trying to understand and cope with the hurt, the sisters couldn’t understand why someone who was supposed to care, love, and protect you would do the unthinkable. What the sisters went through as children and the lifestyle they had to grow up in because of what others decided to do to them took a drastic impact on their lives and also the reasons why one sister as a senior in high school, at seventeen years of age, left home as a loner to seek refuge after being abused, disowned, and abandoned by her parents.

It is estimated that as many as 34 million people grew up in alcoholic homes. But what about the rest of us? What about families that had no alcoholism, but did have perfectionism, workaholism, compulsive overeating, intimacy problems, depression, problems in expressing feelings, plus all the other personality traits that can produce a family system much like an alcoholic one? Countless millions of us struggle with these kinds of dysfunctions every day, and until very recently we struggled alone. Pulling together both theory and clinical practice, John and Linda Friel provide a readable explanation of what happened to us and how we can rectify it.

Partial table of contents: THE CONTEXT AND MODELS OF RELATIONAL DIAGNOSIS. Some Ethical Implications of Relational Diagnosis (M. Gottlieb). Problems Encountered in Reconciling Individual and Relational Diagnoses (W. Denton). Clinical Assessment and Treatment Interventions Using the Family Circumplex Model (D. Olson). Cultural Issues in Relational Diagnosis: Hispanics in the United States (J. Koss-Chioino & J. Canive). VARIOUS RELATIONAL DIAGNOSES: A LEAP INTO THE FUTURE. Oppositional Behavior and Conduct Disorders of Children and Youth (J. Alexander & C. Pugh). Sadomasochistic Interactions (C. Glickauf-Hughes). Relational Components of the Incest Survivor Syndrome (S. Kirschner & D. Kirschner). Chronic Illness and the Family (J. Barth). THE FUTURE OF RELATIONAL DIAGNOSIS. Recurrent Themes Across Diagnoses (F. Kaslow).

Who hasn't peered through their old, dusty family albums and wondered about those unfashionable clothes, the “what-were-they-thinking?” hairdos, and just downright funny-looking faces staring back at them? This quirky collection is a celebration of the very best with a variety of old-time images paired with misguided family wisdom and expressions that reveal the real sentiments that lie beyond these innocent-looking, “old-fashioned” facades. With sixty black-and-white and sepia photographs paired with hilarious captions and a padded cover to emulate a real photo album, this book will have you screaming with laughter!

Most families are dysfunctional, and most people need help recovering from the issues caused by growing up in such families. This book includes 45 inspirational essays which offer comfort and insight to readers, helping those who were raised in dysfunctional families to uncover negative messages, heal their pain, and raise self-esteem.

Discusses the causes and dangers of chemical dependency, its effects on the family, and ways to get help in dealing with this problem.