The struggle for intimacy is part of a life-long process for those who have grown up with alcoholism or dysfunction in the home. To be intimate, to be close, to be vulnerable, contradicts all the survival skills learned by Children of Alcoholics.
Janet Woititz, mother of the recovery movement, sensitively addresses the barriers of trust and intimacy that children learn in an alcoholic family. She provides suggestions for building loving relationships with friends, partners, and spouses.