ACA Literature and New Interactive Workshop Could Reach One Million Incarcerated People
By Hospitals & Institutions Working Group Steven G., Rich R., Dick B., Violet, John W., Mardi M., William G-B., Reyna Late in 2025, ACA World Service Organization (WSO) contracted EDOVO, a company that supplies digital content to incarcerated people. Since then,...
Service In ACA: The Icing On The Cake
When I came to ACA, 12-Step programs were not new to me. My dad was an alcoholic, and I attended several AA meetings with him. With the help of AA and his Higher Power, he had 51 years of sobriety when he passed away. Throughout those years, I watched my dad give back...
Healing Generationally Through ACA
My childhood home in small-town North Dakota was defined by violence, drunkenness, and severe emotional isolation. The first event I remember occurred when I was five. I tried to protect my mother from my father, and he pushed me away hard. Something in me snapped; I...
From Fear to Forgiveness: A Journey Home Through ACA
My dad was an alcoholic and a chaotically explosive Army man who had served two tours in Vietnam. Sitting at dinner, you never knew when he might erupt. One night, when I was 12, I was talking about my sixth-grade teacher, whom I loved. My dad started making fun of...
The Growing Prayer
God, Help me to let go of the pain of yesterday, so the child within me may be free. Help me take ownership of my healing today, so I may grow into the adult I was meant to be. Help guide me in my steps, so that the cycle may end with me. Omnam.
I love you kid
I can’t possibly make up for what you lost. Moments, opportunities, and time. Just gone. Protecting you with fear. That I played on repeat. I kept you locked away, so desperately you looked for another to love you. When I couldn’t. It took me so long to see you. To...
Being Afraid of Fear
I am afraid of taking off the armour I have so carefully crafted over the years. I am afraid of not numbing my mind, of not creating dense layers of fog that keep me from seeing through the eyes of the soul. I am afraid of facing the abyss that might appear before me...
Incarcerated and Grateful for an ACA Sponsor
My name is Sal and I'm an ACA. I was introduced to ACA while attending a drug and alcohol counseling vocation. The introduction came through a book, Adult Children of Alcoholics by Janet Geringer Woitits. I thought this book was very interesting and relatable. I could...
Outreach Success
We had a new couple attend our ACA meeting yesterday, and something happened that absolutely made my day. The woman pulled out one of our ACA business cards and said, “I picked this up at the library.” When I dropped ACA books off at the library, I had also left...
A Life Beyond My Wildest Dreams
I found ACA when I hit rock bottom. I’d pushed away all the people I loved the most. I could not believe how I had screwed up my life again. Zero self esteem. Dad died on Good Friday. I lost my job. The IRS emptied my bank account as they were looking for the weasel...