Category: Psychology Publisher: A Family's Heartbreak, LLC
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages: 295
Copyright: July 1, 2008
ISBN-13: 9780979696015
The true story of one parent's struggle to maintain a normal, loving relationship with his young son in the face of overwhelming odds.
Excerpt
IN THE SPAN OF SEVEN DAYS I filed for divorce, was arrested and falsely accused of child abuse. I also walked into a clinic with all the symptoms of a heart attack. But you know what? Those events were the high points of my week. Divorce, arrests, child abuse charges and heart attacks are like marching in the Disney World parade compared to the world of parental alienation.
The concept of parental alienation is pretty simple – one parent deliberately damages, and in some cases destroys, the previously healthy, loving relationship between his or her child and the child’s other parent. In a severe case the alienating parent and child work together to successfully eliminate the previously loved Mom or Dad from the child’s life.
My introduction to parental alienation began on the night of July 14, 2004. Until that night my 11-year-old son and I had a wonderful relationship. By the early morning hours of July 15, 2004 we didn’t have a relationship.
I know what you’re thinking – a normal, healthy father/son relationship doesn’t go from hugs to heartbreak in a few hours. I believed the same thing. I was wrong. Parental alienation is like a train barreling through a dark tunnel with its lights off. I was standing in the middle of the tracks when the train emerged from the darkness. I never saw it coming.
Professional Reviews
Richard A. Warshak, Ph.D, Author of Divorce Poison: Protecting the Parent-Child Bond From a Vindictive Ex
“A provocative and compelling account of the destruction of a father-son relationship and the legal system’s complicity in the process. Jeffries pulls back the curtain on the tragedy of a child whose love turns to contempt as he takes sides in his parents’ divorce. Sure to be an eye-opener for parents and professionals alike.”
Dr. J. Michael Bone, Clinical and Forensic Consultant on Parent Alienation
“Mike Jeffries has used the trauma and tragedy of his personal nightmare to illuminate how what would seem unbelievable can actually occur. From the theoretical concepts of parental alienation to its most excruciating details, his story vividly illustrates how far a close parent-child relationship can fall. This book is a must read for anyone who suspects that parental alienation is working its way into his or her life.”
Dr. L.F. Lowenstein, M.A., DIP. PSYCH., Ph.D., United Kingdom
“It is my view that every Judge dealing with parental alienation in America, as well as in other countries, should have a copy of A Family's Heartbreak: A Parent's Introduction to Parental Alienation and study it carefully in order to understand the evil which is being committed by a parent, whether mother or father, who turns a loving child against a formerly loved parent.”
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Reviews for "A Family's Heartbreak: A Parent's Introduction to Parental Alienation"
Reviewed by Jim Shaffer
5/20/2009
This book is a powerful—no, gruesome—story about a mother who aggressively turns her son against his father. It’s a gut-wrenching story that reads like a fast-paced, emotionally-charged novel but what’s frightening is that it really happened.
The story is about a concept called parental alienation where one parent deliberately damages or destroys a healthy relationship between his or her child and the child’s other parent.
Co-author Michael Jeffries shares the contents of a detailed journal that he kept throughout his family ordeal, including his then-wife’s toxic behavior that led to the destruction of the father-son relationship. He includes detailed conversations that occurred during therapy with co-author, Dr. Joel Davies, as well as lawyers, judges and friends who played critical roles in the story.
When I picked up the book I knew nothing about parental alienation nor did I have any particular reason to know more about it. But parental alienation is a force that creates massive destruction in families and in this case it makes for one hell of an emotionally charged read.
For those with little to no interest in parental alienation, I’m confident you will find A Family’s Heartbreak as compelling as any fast-paced who-done-it, but throughout your journey you’re likely to become enraged as I did that fellow human beings can be so destructive to other human beings—especially children who may live forever with the pain and scars.
For those who’re in the unfortunate position to be intimately familiar with parental alienation or who have a professional clinical interest in the subject, the authors offer a bundle of suggestions focused on coping and finding solutions to the condition and they offer up their observations about the role of the legal and judicial system, neither of which is very pretty.
Neurosis, a mental illness, affects everyone to a greater or lesser extent, yet most know little or nothing about it. This book reveals all, including incidence, signs and symptoms, cause, treatment and prevention, in lay language.
