Illiad Book-- John Wallace: Writings

This book by John Wallace talks about his views on alcoholism and getting through the process of recovery. It is a collection of his papers written about the psychological and physical damage done by alcoholism and how to reverse its effects.

One specific paper that caught my eye was entitled "Children of Alcoholics: A Population at Risk". In this paper, Wallace notes that it is factually proven that children are affected differently depending on whether their mother or father is the alcoholic. I never realized how much psychological impact alcoholism can have on a young child. For instance, Wallace explains that the instability associated with living with an alcoholic parent may result in chaotic lifestyles and a higher possibility of suicide later in life.

He goes on to talk about treatments for these children starting with a careful therapeutic examination of problems associated with the child and a family history check. He believes that opening children up of their issues will open the flow of communication within. This is closely linked to the idea behind my Project Hope which is an outlet for children with alcoholic parents to get to open up and talk about their feelings toward these issues.