Growing up in a middle class home, my father's heroin addiction was the thing no one mentioned. We lived in denial and secrecy. Years later I set out to understand my behavior as an adult child of an addict.

If you're an adult child of a drug addicted parent, wondering if you can get clear of the pain of your addicted family? It will take time to move through the pain and shame, but it can be done. I'm a woman who grew up in an addicted family. I don't have all the answers, but understanding myself and my behavior helped me. Maybe it will help you as well.

Allia Burch (pseudonym) is a writer who lives in the Northeastern U.S.