Description: Behind nearly every adult who is accused of a crime, becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol, or who is severely mentally ill and acting out in public, there is usually at least one extremely stressed-out parent. This parent may initially react with the bad news of their adult child behaving badly with, Oh no! followed by, How can I help to fix this? A very common third reaction is the thought, Where did I go wrong--was it something I said or did, or that I failed to do when my child was growing up that caused these issues? Is this really somehow all my fault? These parents then open their homes, their pocketbooks, their hearts, and their futures to saving their adult child--who may go on to leave them financially and emotionally broken. Sometimes these families also raise the children their adult children leave behind: 1.6 million grandparents in the US are in this situation. This helpful book presents families with quotations and scenarios from real suffering parents (who are not identified), practical advice, and tested strategies for coping. It also discusses the fact that parents of adult children may themselves need therapy and medications, especially antidepressants. The book is written in a clear, reassuring manner by Dr. Joel L. Young, medical director of the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine.
Brief description: Joel L. Young, MD, is the medical director and founder of the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Young is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with added qualifications in geriatric, forensic, and adolescent psychiatry. He serves as a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. Dr. Young is chief medical officer of the Clinical Trials Group of Southeast Michigan. He has served as the primary investigator for more than seventy clinical trials, authoring over 100 articles. He is the author of When Your Adult Child Breaks Your Heart: Coping with Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and the Problems That Tear Families Apart, ADHD Grown Up: A Guide to Adolescent and Adult ADHD, and Contemporary Guide to Adult ADHD.