This new edition of Perfect Daughters, a pivotal book in the ACoA movement, identifies what differentiates the adult daughters of alcoholics from other women.

When this groundbreaking book first appeared over ten years ago, Dr. Ackerman identified behavior patterns shared by daughters of alcoholics. Adult daughters of alcoholics--perfect daughters --operate from a base of harsh and limiting views of themselves and the world. Having learned that they must function perfectly in order to avoid unpleasant situations, these women often assume responsibility for the failures of others. They are drawn to chemically dependent men and are more likely to become addicted themselves. More than just a text that identifies these behavior patterns, this book collects the thoughts, feelings and experiences of twelve hundred perfect daughters, offering readers an opportunity to explore their own life's dynamics and thereby heal and grow.

This edition contains updated information throughout the text, and completely new material, including chapters on eating disorders and abuse letters from perfect daughters in various stages of recovery, and helpful, affirming suggestions from Dr. Ackerman at the end of every chapter. This book is essential for every one who found validation, hope, courage and support in the pages of the original Perfect Daughters, as well as new readers and every therapist who confronts these issues.

Also includes: a comprehensive reference section and complete index.

So, you want to be a great leader? The first lesson of any successful leader is that it's not about you, it's about them. Leaders look out for the team as they inspire, encourage, and empower others. You pick them up and dust them off when they fall. You give them radically candid, concise feedback with a compassionate heart so they can learn and grow. You demonstrate integrity, respect, and trust. You are humble and self-aware. You become a great listener and encourage others to speak up and challenge the status quo. You make your team feel secure and trusting with one another. I started my career over 50 years ago as a clerk. I worked for many people over those years but only a few of them were great leaders. I watched and listened and learned. In time I got to try my hand at leading. That's when the true learning began! I'm still learning, and at this point in my life I've decided to share what I've learned so far. Sharing is important to mewhether sharing knowledge, financial support, time with those who need it, laughter, or simply sharing stories with those who are interested. I'm a story teller, and in this book I've tried to tell a few of those stories and share the impact it had on my thinking, my career and my life. I have also seen where a good storytelling moved people into action, whether with a business agent deciding to come to the negotiating table to reach a union bargaining agreement, a director encouraging his team to brush up their project reports to be fit for submission, or when responding to a call from a person referred to me by someone I know. This book encompasses both lived experience and research that support the importance of leading with heart. As you read my story, I hope you can feel what I felt and can learn more easily some of the key lessons I had to learn the hard way. As you pursue your career, be daring, be brave, be humble, be patient, be persistent, and most of all be passionate. Remember, there is no greater feeling than empowering the dreams of others.

About the Book

Buff Means was born with Myostatin-related Muscular Hypotrophy. Myostatin is needed in the body so we don't grow too much muscle. Buff was a huge baby and he worked out with weights and practiced martial arts almost every day since he was five years old. Buff was a military policeman in Afghanistan. He then became a deputy sheriff and soon a sheriff, and then he started training Belgian Malinois. He and his dog took part in many hairy rescues. Buff was incredibly strong. You'll love the dogs in the book and hopefully love the story.

About the Author

Robert Ackerman was born in South Dakota in 1947. He serves as one of the directors on the West Dakota Water Development District. He also likes to collect art, referee soccer games, and coach soccer teams. Ackerman was the Director of the Pennington County Drug and Alcohol Task Force and more recently was the director of the Keystone Ambulance Service for 6 years.

I love stories, and I have collected a few over the course of my life and career that resonates with me. I've worked in both the public and private sectors. I've also wandered into others as life may have it. Each chapter here intends to tell a story in an attempt to humanize the topic without offering a concrete solution; instead, I let readers draw their own conclusions and, hopefully, find the story useful. The lessons that I have learned over the years revolve around, how being vulnerable can be healthy for us; having compassion toward one another, and forgiving those who have wronged us are soft skills for everyday living.

So, you want to be a great leader? The first lesson of any successful leader is that it's not about you, it's about them. Leaders look out for the team as they inspire, encourage, and empower others. You pick them up and dust them off when they fall. You give them radically candid, concise feedback with a compassionate heart so they can learn and grow. You demonstrate integrity, respect, and trust. You are humble and self-aware. You become a great listener and encourage others to speak up and challenge the status quo. You make your team feel secure and trusting with one another. I started my career over 50 years ago as a clerk. I worked for many people over those years but only a few of them were great leaders. I watched and listened and learned. In time I got to try my hand at leading. That's when the true learning began! I'm still learning, and at this point in my life I've decided to share what I've learned so far. Sharing is important to mewhether sharing knowledge, financial support, time with those who need it, laughter, or simply sharing stories with those who are interested. I'm a story teller, and in this book I've tried to tell a few of those stories and share the impact it had on my thinking, my career and my life. I have also seen where a good storytelling moved people into action, whether with a business agent deciding to come to the negotiating table to reach a union bargaining agreement, a director encouraging his team to brush up their project reports to be fit for submission, or when responding to a call from a person referred to me by someone I know. This book encompasses both lived experience and research that support the importance of leading with heart. As you read my story, I hope you can feel what I felt and can learn more easily some of the key lessons I had to learn the hard way. As you pursue your career, be daring, be brave, be humble, be patient, be persistent, and most of all be passionate. Remember, there is no greater feeling than empowering the dreams of others.

The enduring importance of his book The Golden Bough keeps J.G. Frazer's name prominent on the list of the most significant figures in modern religious studies. But by no means was Fraser the sole influence on the Cambridge-based school of thought-- myth-ritualism-- most often associated with him. In this intellectual history of the fellowship of scholars to which Frazer belonged, Robert Ackerman expands our acquaintance with the myth and ritual school to include Jane Harrison, Gilbert Murray, F.M. Cornford, and A.B. Cook, all of whom were instrumental in connecting the lines of thought in myth theory, classics, and anthropology that had begun to converge at the turn of the last century. Ackerman's examination of the chief works of each member of the Cambridge group illuminates their primary interests in Greek myth, ritual, and religion and traces the threads of their arguments through the group's writings on the origins of tragedy, comedy, philosophy, art, and sport. In the book's final chapter Ackerman explores the application of myth-ritualist thought to a variety of post-classical literature.

The Importance of Wise Decisions has a great lesson for the reader starting with the title in Robert Ackerman, and J. Ibeh Agbanyims new book. Decisions simply are the process of deciding between different paths of possible courses of action. Buy the book, read it, and it will teach you the importance of making the right decisions. Don M. Green, Executive Director, Napoleon Hill Foundation This is a book full of solid, essential advice. Foreword Clarion Review Decision-making is inevitable in life. Whether we like it or not, we make decisions on a daily basis. The results of some are subtle, while others have pronounced effects. Either way, our decisions have consequences. Even when we decide not to make any decision, we have just made one by not deciding. In The Importance of Wise Decisions, authors Robert Ackerman and J. Ibeh Agbanyim outline steps on how to be conscious of our decision-making. They offer a collection of real-life examples and explore how they permeate the world of work and relationships. You can learn how to make healthy decisions, embrace leader humility, and promote shared leadership through decision-making. Faulty decisions might lead to making poor judgments that reverberate throughout our lives. Our decision-making abilities determine our course of action personally, at work, in our interactions with people, and our relationships. This guide provides a practical approach to improving the quality of decision-making and thereby succeeding in every area of life.

I love stories, and I have collected a few over the course of my life and career that resonates with me. I've worked in both the public and private sectors. I've also wandered into others as life may have it. Each chapter here intends to tell a story in an attempt to humanize the topic without offering a concrete solution; instead, I let readers draw their own conclusions and, hopefully, find the story useful. The lessons that I have learned over the years revolve around, how being vulnerable can be healthy for us; having compassion toward one another, and forgiving those who have wronged us are soft skills for everyday living.

Genetic Engineering: A Fundamental Moral Approach. Recent discoveries in molecular biology have radically altered the science of genetics, posing new challenges for scientists and moralists alike. This new genetics requires a new model of creation that adequately addresses the weaknesses of two models of creation, the stewardship model and the co-creator model, that have been used to assess the limits and possibilities of genetic manipulation in human beings. Using a retrieved natural law approach, the author specifies a third model of creation that he calls limited co-creator. As a corrective to the two earlier models, the limited co-creator model steers a middle course between prohibiting or severely limiting genetic manipulation and allowing unlimited genetic manipulation. This analysis will be of value to theologians, scientists, and general readers who are looking for a clearly articulated methodology that can be used to assess the feasibility of conducting genetic engineering in human beings prior to going down the clinical path.

The Importance of Wise Decisions has a great lesson for the reader starting with the title in Robert Ackerman, and J. Ibeh Agbanyims new book. Decisions simply are the process of deciding between different paths of possible courses of action. Buy the book, read it, and it will teach you the importance of making the right decisions. Don M. Green, Executive Director, Napoleon Hill Foundation This is a book full of solid, essential advice. Foreword Clarion Review Decision-making is inevitable in life. Whether we like it or not, we make decisions on a daily basis. The results of some are subtle, while others have pronounced effects. Either way, our decisions have consequences. Even when we decide not to make any decision, we have just made one by not deciding. In The Importance of Wise Decisions, authors Robert Ackerman and J. Ibeh Agbanyim outline steps on how to be conscious of our decision-making. They offer a collection of real-life examples and explore how they permeate the world of work and relationships. You can learn how to make healthy decisions, embrace leader humility, and promote shared leadership through decision-making. Faulty decisions might lead to making poor judgments that reverberate throughout our lives. Our decision-making abilities determine our course of action personally, at work, in our interactions with people, and our relationships. This guide provides a practical approach to improving the quality of decision-making and thereby succeeding in every area of life.

The enduring importance of his book The Golden Bough keeps J.G. Frazer's name prominent on the list of the most significant figures in modern religious studies. But by no means was Fraser the sole influence on the Cambridge-based school of thought-- myth-ritualism-- most often associated with him. In this intellectual history of the fellowship of scholars to which Frazer belonged, Robert Ackerman expands our acquaintance with the myth and ritual school to include Jane Harrison, Gilbert Murray, F.M. Cornford, and A.B. Cook, all of whom were instrumental in connecting the lines of thought in myth theory, classics, and anthropology that had begun to converge at the turn of the last century. Ackerman's examination of the chief works of each member of the Cambridge group illuminates their primary interests in Greek myth, ritual, and religion and traces the threads of their arguments through the group's writings on the origins of tragedy, comedy, philosophy, art, and sport. In the book's final chapter Ackerman explores the application of myth-ritualist thought to a variety of post-classical literature.