The purpose of this study has been to describe and understand the meaning of adult children´s experience of growing up in a family with addiction. The study is based on a lifeworld phenomenological approach where the adult children have been the focus. The data collection consisted of five open interviews, where the adult children gave their experience of their childhood. The result of the study shows that adult children all have experienced the sense of shame/stigma, de-prioritized, a dysfunctional everyday life, a body that reacts and a body that remembers. This has led to various challenges and consequences while growing up, the adult children have handled this differently according to their own abilities and circumstances. It has also resulted in challenges in adulthood, which also have been handled differently depending on the person. Based on the results, it has been possible to understand the importance of preventive work towards families where there is an addiction problem. Something that further needs continuous research to prevent dysfunctional upbringing.