The Portraits of Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACoA) in the Latest Realistic Prose

Abstract

This article is devoted to the images of Adult Children Of Alcoholics (ACoA) in the latest realistic prose. The author focused on discussing three novels: Bezmatek by Mira Marcinów (2020), Mireczek. Patoopowieść o moim ojcu by Aleksandra Zbroja (2021) and Matrioszka by Marta Dzido (2022), in which the destructive impact of growing up in a family with an alcohol problem on a person’s adult life is shown. In all of the works, the reader will notice symptoms characteristic of ACoA, such as low self-esteem, fear of feelings, constant guilt, compulsive behavior, fear of abandonment, etc. These works differ in the convention adopted by the authors. In Marcinów it is an elegiac story about the loss of a mother, in Zbroja the story of the father’s alcoholism is shown in the broader context of sociological changes concerning the phenomenon of alcoholism in Poland. In turn, Dzido is dominated by a fairy tale convention, which the author uses to talk about ACoA syndromes. Common to all the authors is the belief in the therapeutic power of writing. Writing down traumatic stories is a type of therapeutic work, as a result of which the subject tries to regain inner harmony and joy. What is more, this work helps rebuild a positive image of oneself and the world.