Reviews of From Madness to Mutiny
Click on the name of each reviewer for the full review (when available).
“Make sure everyone knows about the incredible new book available from Barnes and Noble entitled From Madness to Mutiny: Why Mothers Are Running from the Family Courts--and What Can Be Done about It by Amy Neustein and Michael Lesher. If every one of us sent one copy of this book to our local Family Law Judge we would see a huge change in how these cases are handled. I sent one copy to one judge who cares, and he sent 25 copies to 25 other judges, on his own steam and at his own expense! Please try this.” Meera Fox, Executive Director, Child Abuse Solutions, Inc., Berkeley, CA, in post to email list, October 18, 2005.
“This book is a must read for every feminist, especially mothers.” Helen Grieco, Executive Director, California NOW, in the California NOW Activist (Autumn 2005).
“Groundbreaking Book: From Madness to Mutiny... offers a comprehensive set of legislative and policy changes that, if adopted, could help to transform our family courts from instruments of punishment to true institutions of justice.” In Bergen County, The Magazine (September/October 2005).
“When you study large numbers of cases as the authors have done, however, it becomes apparent that the fault is not with the mother but with the system. The same mistakes are made repeatedly by judges, lawyers, law guardians, mental health professionals, child protective workers and other players in the system. The authors' contribution is to help us see this pattern of abuse in the courts.” Barry Goldstein, on Amazon.com (June 19, 2005).
“This is not light reading. Sociologist Neustein and attorney Lesher have written a shocking indictment of the U.S. family court system. After studying over a thousand cases, they find a clear pattern of abuse by the system itself, directed against sexually-abused children and the parents who try to protect them.” Jeremy H. Griffith, on Amazon.com (June 13, 2005).
“The same judgment that fell on the Catholic hierarchy for exposing children to sexual abuse by clergy is storming the door of our nation's family courts.” Anne Grant, Providence Journal (June 12, 2005).
“From Madness to Mutiny is the first scholarly and comprehensive study to date of the phenomenon. The book documents case after case where accusations of sexual abuse resulted in forced contact with the alleged abuser, and sometimes complete termination of parental contact with a loving parent who seeks only to protect the child.” Joyanna Silberg, Ph.D., Family Violence & Sexual Assault Bulletin, 21(2), 2005.
“I highly recommend From Madness to Mutiny as required reading in family law courses in our law schools as well for trainings for judges, therapists, social workers, child protective services and law enforcement as well as for anyone who is writing seriously about child abuse. Most of all, I applaud Neustein and Lesher for putting a book into the hands of so many protective mothers (or other protective relatives) that will let them know that they are not alone and that they are not crazy for wanting to do everything in their power to protect their precious children.” Eileen King, Sexual Assault Report (May/June 2005).
“From Madness to Mutiny ... the culmination of 20 years of research, studies the cases of 1,000 women across the country who reported that their children had been the victims of sexual abuse, only to find themselves attacked by the family court system, often losing custody of their children.” Shira Schoenberg, The Jewish Advocate, Boston (May 27, 2005)
“... a book shining an unflinching light on the abuses [mothers] have suffered at the hands of misguided family court judges with too much absolute power and too little critical oversight is the only Mother's Day gift that matters. And while it is often tempting to look away from the unvarnished truth, you will find this a hard book to put down, because it is a book that matters.” Jesse Rosenthal, The Residential, Edgewater, NJ (May 2005)
“Neustein and Lesher's well-documented and eminently readable book rips the curtains off the abject degeneration into madness of today's family court system. In searing detail, the book points a much deserved finger of blame at the actors in this legal nightmare--the attorneys, law guardians (lawyers for the children), judges, custody evaluators, and other court ‘auxiliaries’.” Mo Hannah, Ph.D., psychology professor, Siena College, on BarnesAndNoble.com (April 22, 2005).
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