It's Your Body, but It's My Life: An Autobiographical Poetry Journal by an Adult Child of an Alcoholic

Her father was institutionalized when she was just an infant. Her mother was an alcoholic. The only real parent she ever knew was her older brother.

“They say kids are resilient,

But I think that’s a lie.

We just wait till we’re alone to cry…”

The heartbreakingly raw autobiographical collection of poems and reflections, It’s Your Body but It’s My Life, honors the feelings of a young girl who learns to cope with the ramifications of growing up with an alcoholic mother. The hurricane of feelings she uncovered—guilt, self-doubt, and trepidation—come alive in poems such as “The Bathtub Prayer“ and “Guarded.”

Alongside the whirlwind of feelings she unpacks, though, she is also able to acknowledge the support she received in “The Gift” and to recognize the inner strength, love, and resolve she developed in “The Gift,” “The Brink,” and “I Realize.”

It’s Your Body but it’s My Life takes you on one woman’s journey from acknowledging her grief and anger to discovering her own power of Self—acceptance, love, and empathy.

Whether you are an Adult Child of an Alcoholic (ACOA) yourself or are seeking to understand someone who is, this book will be a guide and a helping hand.