1. I HAVE A RIGHT … to all the good times that I have longed for all these years and didn’t get.

2. I HAVE A RIGHT … to joy in this life, right here, right now – not just a momentary rush of euphoria but something more substantive.

3. I HAVE A RIGHT … to relax and have fun in a non-alcoholic and in a non-destructive way.

4. I HAVE A RIGHT … to actively pursue people, places, and situations that will help me in achieving a good life.

5. I HAVE A RIGHT … to say no whenever I feel something is not safe or I am not ready.

6. I HAVE A RIGHT … to not participate in either the active or passive “crazy-making” behaviors of parents, of siblings, and of others.

7. I HAVE A RIGHT … to take calculated risks and to experiment with new strategies.

8. I HAVE A RIGHT …to change my tune, my strategy, and my funny equations.

9. I HAVE A RIGHT … to “mess up”, to make mistakes, to “blow it”, to disappoint myself and to fall short of the mark.

10. I HAVE A RIGHT … to leave the company of people who deliberately or inadvertently put me down, lay a guilt trip on me, manipulate or humiliate me, including my alcoholic parent, my non-alcoholic parent, or any other member of my family.

11. I HAVE A RIGHT… to put an end to conversations with people who make me feel put down and humiliated.

12. I HAVE A RIGHT … to all my feelings.

13. I HAVE A RIGHT …to trust my feelings, my judgment, my hunches, my intuition.

14. I HAVE A RIGHT …to develop myself as a whole person emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically and psychologically.

15. I HAVE A RIGHT …to express all my feelings in a nondestructive way and at a safe time and place.

16. I HAVE A RIGHT … to as much time as I need to experiment with this new information and these new ideas and to initiate changes in my life.

17. I HAVE A RIGHT …to a mentally healthy, sane way of existence, though it will deviate in part, or all, from my parents’ prescribed philosophy of life.

18. I HAVE A RIGHT …to carve out my place in this world.

19. I HAVE A RIGHT … to follow any of the above rights, to live my life the way I want to, and not wait until my alcoholic parent gets well, gets happy, seeks help, or admits there is/was a problem.

Author Unknown