diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 833a532..e7a3ac7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,15 @@ All notable changes to the SQLiteQ project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.2.1] - 2025-05-07
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Added recovery functionality for unacknowledged queue items via `RequeueNoAckRows()`
+- Added boolean column `ack` to track acknowledgment status
+- Improved query performance with additional indexes
+- Fixed issue with duplicate ack_id generation
+
 ## [0.2.0] - 2025-05-06
 
 ### Changed
diff --git a/queue.go b/queue.go
index b45fa89..4eb7d39 100644
--- a/queue.go
+++ b/queue.go
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ func newQueue(db *sql.DB, tableName string, opts ...Option) (*Queue, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to initialize table: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	q.RequeueNoAckRows()
+
 	return q, nil
 }
 
@@ -47,16 +49,36 @@ func (q *Queue) initTable() error {
 		data BLOB NOT NULL,
 		status TEXT NOT NULL,
 		ack_id TEXT UNIQUE,
+		ack BOOLEAN DEFAULT 0,
 		created_at TIMESTAMP,
 		updated_at TIMESTAMP
 	);
 	CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS %s_status_idx ON %s (status, created_at);
-	`, q.tableName, q.tableName, q.tableName)
+	CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS %s_status_ack_idx ON %s (status, ack);
+	CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS %s_ack_id_idx ON %s (ack_id);
+	`, q.tableName, q.tableName, q.tableName, q.tableName, q.tableName, q.tableName, q.tableName)
 
 	_, err := q.client.Exec(createTableSQL)
 	return err
 }
 
+func (q *Queue) RequeueNoAckRows() {
+	tx, err := q.client.Begin()
+
+	defer func() {
+		if err != nil {
+			tx.Rollback()
+		}
+	}()
+
+	_, err = tx.Exec(
+		fmt.Sprintf("UPDATE %s SET status = 'pending', updated_at = ? WHERE  status = 'processing' AND ack = 0", q.tableName),
+		time.Now().UTC(),
+	)
+
+	tx.Commit()
+}
+
 // Enqueue adds an item to the queue
 // It serializes the item to JSON and stores it in the database
 // Returns true if the operation was successful
@@ -77,8 +99,8 @@ func (q *Queue) Enqueue(item any) bool {
 	}()
 
 	_, err = tx.Exec(
-		fmt.Sprintf("INSERT INTO %s (data, status, created_at, updated_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)", q.tableName),
-		item, "pending", now, now,
+		fmt.Sprintf("INSERT INTO %s (data, status, ack, created_at, updated_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)", q.tableName),
+		item, "pending", 0, now, now,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		return false
@@ -109,11 +131,24 @@ func (q *Queue) dequeueInternal(withAckId bool) (item any, success bool, ackID s
 	// Get the oldest pending item
 	var id int64
 	var data []byte
+
+	// Only dequeue pending items in FIFO order
 	row := tx.QueryRow(fmt.Sprintf(
-		"SELECT id, data FROM %s WHERE status = 'pending' ORDER BY created_at ASC LIMIT 1",
+		"SELECT id, data, ack_id FROM %s WHERE status = 'pending' ORDER BY created_at ASC LIMIT 1",
 		q.tableName,
 	))
-	err = row.Scan(&id, &data)
+
+	// Use NullString to handle NULL values from database
+	var nullAckID sql.NullString
+
+	// Scan the row data
+	err = row.Scan(&id, &data, &nullAckID) // ackID may be NULL for pending items
+
+	// Extract the string value if valid
+	if nullAckID.Valid {
+		ackID = nullAckID.String
+	}
+
 	if err != nil {
 		if err == sql.ErrNoRows {
 			tx.Rollback()
@@ -123,17 +158,21 @@ func (q *Queue) dequeueInternal(withAckId bool) (item any, success bool, ackID s
 		return nil, false, ""
 	}
 
-	// Update the status to 'processing', with or without ack ID
+	// Update the status to 'processing' or delete the item, based on withAckId
 	now := time.Now().UTC()
+
 	if withAckId {
-		ackID = cuid.New()
+		if ackID == "" {
+			ackID = cuid.New()
+		}
 
+		// Update the item to processing status
 		_, err = tx.Exec(
 			fmt.Sprintf("UPDATE %s SET status = 'processing', ack_id = ?, updated_at = ? WHERE id = ?", q.tableName),
 			ackID, now, id,
 		)
 	} else {
-		// remove the row if there is no ack
+		// For regular Dequeue, just delete the item immediately
 		_, err = tx.Exec(
 			fmt.Sprintf("DELETE FROM %s WHERE id = ?", q.tableName),
 			id,
@@ -185,15 +224,14 @@ func (q *Queue) Acknowledge(ackID string) bool {
 	if q.removeOnComplete {
 		// If removeOnComplete is true, delete the acknowledged item
 		result, err = tx.Exec(
-			fmt.Sprintf("DELETE FROM %s WHERE ack_id = ? AND status = 'processing'", q.tableName),
+			fmt.Sprintf("DELETE FROM %s WHERE ack_id = ? ", q.tableName),
 			ackID,
 		)
 	} else {
-		// Otherwise, just mark it as completed
-		now := time.Now().UTC()
+		// Otherwise, mark it as completed and set ack to 1 (true in SQLite)
 		result, err = tx.Exec(
-			fmt.Sprintf("UPDATE %s SET status = 'completed', updated_at = ? WHERE ack_id = ? AND status = 'processing'", q.tableName),
-			now, ackID,
+			fmt.Sprintf("UPDATE %s SET status = 'completed', ack = 1, updated_at = ? WHERE ack_id = ?", q.tableName),
+			time.Now().UTC(), ackID,
 		)
 	}
 
@@ -203,6 +241,7 @@ func (q *Queue) Acknowledge(ackID string) bool {
 	}
 
 	rowsAffected, err := result.RowsAffected()
+
 	if err != nil || rowsAffected == 0 {
 		tx.Rollback()
 		return false