“As Adult Children of Manifest Destiny, we were lied to about our past. We were given a cultural creation story that didn’t include truths that we should have been told, and this gave rise to all kinds of dysfunctions. It is natural to be resentful of this; but just as we do not want to remain caught in supremacist habits, we don’t want to flip the other way and get caught up in resentments. At its best, the daily inventory reminds us of the life that we have chosen now, walking with Higher Power.

… As we pursue honesty in our daily relationships through a daily inventory, we also recover our personal and family stories. We experience the freedom of creating truer and more honest narratives than the false ones handed to us by our inculturation.”

—From Step Ten, Adult Children of Manifest Destiny

We;

1. Admitted we were oblivious to the ways of our dysfunction; that life and living with each other had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could see our way to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our reality and our identity over to the care of a Higher Power as we understood that Higher Power.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our individual and cultural past.
5. Admitted to our Higher Power, to ourselves and to another person the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely willing to release our distortions of character while walking with Higher Power.
7. Humbly trusted our Higher Power to take care of all we’ve let go.
8. Made a list of all those we’d harmed, and became willing to make amends.
9. Made direct amends wherever possible, except when to do so would cause injury.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11. Found through prayer, reflection and community that we improve our conscious contact with our Higher Power as we understand Higher Power; desiring only to know Creator’s will for us and the energy to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we offer this message to others, endeavoring to practice these principles in all of our affairs.

Authors

Tim H. and Aleitta R. are working class people who bring their diverse experiences, steady curiosity and inspiration to this work. They reside in the American west on Hinono’ei, Tsistsistas and Ute land.

Reading ACMD by yourself is worthwhile and beneficial, though it is a richer experience when done within a group. There is a feeling of welcome and safety that is experienced when people participate in their own small groups. Whether done in a group or by yourself, the investigation of our dysfunctional culture of origin and how it operates remains indelible. Take what you need and leave the rest.

We offer moral support and help people who are interested in groups find one another at groups@acmdonline.com. The first thing we suggest is to begin your own group with one or two friends, then invite others you know who might appreciate it. All it takes is one person who is willing to try leading and another who wants to show up.

ACMD meetings can be held in church basements with instant coffee and sheet cake like other 12 Step meetings, or wherever safe spaces can be found. Meetings can also be held using private electronic spaces like Zoom and Google Meet.

Every group should be a ‘closed group’ that begins and grows by way of known personal recommendations. Invitations should not be made to the general public on media or generalized social media. Creating groups by personal invitation helps keep the meeting experience safe and reduces trolling. More info is in the ACMD book under Starting a Group, and from groups@acmdonline.com.

All ACMD groups are independent, self-organized and self maintaining. The authors of ACMD do not monetize groups and are not responsible for them. Adult Children of Manifest Destiny (ACMD) is not associated with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) or any other 12 Step fellowships or programs.