Customer Reviews

All But My Soul : Abuse Beyond Control

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I'm absolutely flabbergasted by this book--not by the actions of her wretched ex-husband Les, but by the continual abuse of the LEGAL system funded by his mindless, destructive pathology. I, too, was married to an abusive physician, more emotional than physical. A rude, ranting power-monger. When I finally gathered the strength to make a move (and it took YEARS), the legal system was there for me. Aside from the longevity of the proceedings (2 1/2 years SO FAR) my children and I have been protected by the judges. My attorney and his staff have never wavered in their support and have been a source of strength for me. Having an attorney you can trust, along with the support of family and countless friends gets you through even the most frightening days.
If you are in an abusive situation, Dr. King's book may scare you from taking action against your abuser. Don't let it. Read her book, educate yourself, and get ready for battle. You cannot be weak. I hope that her situation is not the norm and if you are considering a divorce, then be ready for a long and bloody dog-fight. These men don't give up--and worse, they deny any wrong-doing or responsibility and place all the blame on anyone who happens to be walking by. Unreal. Because they are charming and appear piteous, people actually believe them. The attitude of unethical attorneys is just as much or more loathsome: "Hey, if those kids get hungry enough, she'll settle", and they will use and do anything to win. These people will not stand up for the simplest of human decencies like children not huddling together in fear listening to their father shriek in fury at their mother. They will, in fact, take those children and put their very lives and emotional well-being at risk if it will line their pockets with silver. My daughter used to grab her little sister, put cotton in her ears, lock the bedroom door and crawl under the bedcovers with her during his irrational meltdowns. Read this book, read other books, get on the internet and research laws for your state and state Supreme Court rulings, find a loyal, GOOD attorney who is appalled at misogynous behavior, get dormant and grow strong roots. Keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone your business. Lose as much emotion as you can. Think like they think and try to stay one step ahead. Once you make a decision, you cannot feel sorry for them or guilty and go back into that life. Maintain your dignity, don't grovel, try not to show fear, and stay on the right side of right. Forget future planning and live for today and take care of those children. If you don't protect them, you can't expect anyone else to. My turning point was when my daughter turned and looked at me after yet another mealtime rampage and quietly said: "Mom, I can't live like this anymore. You have got to do something." Her eyes were just dull.
Be smart, educate yourself and remember you know more about your case than anyone in that courtroom. And hope that the legal system is ethical and doesn't prey on your children. Where are the Congressmen? the Senators? Greenpeace? Jesse Jackson? Where's the Village Hillary wrote about? Is the spotted owl more important than Dr. King's three sons? At this very moment, while you are reading this, one of her children is being punched, kicked, screamed at, humiliated. How Judge Timothy Evans sleeps at night is beyond me. Surely those children's cries haunt him every moment. All of that pain---for lousy money and political gain. What an unforgivable American tragedy.

Having spent most of my adult life in one abusive situation after another I couldn't imagine that there was anything that could shock me or make me feel more drawn to take action. Although I already knew the ending before I began reading I couldn't put the book down I was so drawn into the passion and authenticity of Dr Kings' writing about the continual cycles of abuse that she and her children had endured. At some points I got so wrapped up in what happened to Dr. King and her children that I felt as though I became a part of the story and wanted to help her and her children in any way I could. Although I have always known from my own experience that lawyers, doctors, and the courts could all be bought off I couldn't imagine that anyone could turn their heads for politics and money while ignoring such outrageous abuse and devastation. Additionally, the numbers of people who turned their back on this situation is far beyond any reasonable persons' imagination. I find it amazing that she was able to survive the torture of her relationship only to be continually tortured even more by those who were supposed to be there to help and protect her and her children. Finally after surviving such horrific abuse to be able to pour her energy into writing such detail about `what really happens in the abuse cycle' must have been painful as she relived every event of the previous few years in order to make a difference. I applaud Dr. King for her courage and I pray that when her children are old enough to read this book and understand the real dynamics of the abuse cycle perpetrated on their mother and themselves that they will be able to draw from her strength and courage to forgive their abuser and stop the abuse cycle from continuing into the next generation of Blumenthal's. Dr. King has obviously put her heart and soul into this book with the clear intention of making a difference in someone else's life, I can't imagine anyone coming away from reading this book without being changed in some positive way. Thank you Dr. King for you commitment to making a difference and for your courage in coming forward to help others who are trapped in this same cycle of abuse. This book has changed my life forever.

***But be warned*** If you are a survivor of abuse, this will bring back memories. In this day and age, it is almost unthinkable that any court in this land would give an abusive parent custody of the children after a divorce. Almost .... This is but ONE of many, many stories of how abused women not only endure the torment of abuse at the hands of the one they vowed to love and honor, til death do they part, but then get abused and tormented by the family courts in America. Good, caring, loving mothers are having their babies ripped from their arms and handed over to the very person who caused them so much pain, terror and fear in their marriage. Why and how does this happen so often? "All But My Soul" is the story of Dr. Jeanne King. She left her marriage and escaped the horror of abuse taking her sons with her. But somehow, justice went awry. Those sons are now living with Dr. King's abuser ... her ex-husband. She now has little to no contact with them. Dr. King shares with us the horror of abuse, not only at the hands of her spouse, but also from the American judicial system. It is compelling, emotionally revealing and above all, an eye-opener for everyone. At times, it is heart-rending, reducing the most stoic of readers to tears. For every woman that has ever lived the terror of domestic violence, for every mother that has lost her children to her abuser, for every heart that has the slightest bit of compassion, Dr. King's story will touch the deepest parts of the soul. For anyone caught in a similar situation, this story will give encouragement to break free, to fight back and above all, never give up hope ... or the soul.

Dr. King has definitely tapped into her mission in life. This expose is by far the most comprehensive and profoundly insightful chronicle of the cycle of abuse I have ever read. Jeanne King did an absolutely superb job in weaving together the horrific tale of victimization of her and her children; while simultaneously documenting and exposing the injustice and continued battering she experienced through the judicial process. I am shocked, outraged and sorely dissappointed at how something of this magnitude and depth could happen. It is disheartening to know that personal greed exceeds justice. Somehow, someway, someday justice must prevail. If not, we risk weakening the very thread that is the foundation for a civilized nation. Dr. King has done and extraordinary job setting a precedent for educating us all on the intricacies of domestic violence and child abuse. Her work unquestionably warrants consideration for the Nobel Prize in literature. Until she is reunited with her children, with every breath she takes, I pray that it serves as a brick in the road that her children will use to find their way back to her safely.

Dr. Kings story brought up very scary memories for me. I was also in a major custody battle at the time that I read her book. I couldn't even imagine how such a tragedy could happen in our American court system. But, now my children and I are also victims! I still have contact with my kids and can see them where their father lives which is more than Dr. King has but.... I haven't seen my kids in about 6 months now. Dr. King's spine tingling account of her tragedy happens more often than many many people realize. It still amazes me that our courts could revictimize the victims but it does happen. Thank you for your efforts to change things Dr. King!

A must read for all women. This could happen to you. Be very careful who you marry and with whom you have children. Look behind that charming exterior before you even allow him a date.

"All but my Soul, Abuse Beyond Control" is a powerful and gut wrenching account of the family of a wife and child abuser, and of the United States court system that sided with him and gave him full permission to continue abusing to his heart's content. We are so taught that we can rely on our justice system to be just, that it's hard to fathom that one judge and lawyer after another could so use their power to further abuse a wife and her sons.

Yet, I too was in a similar situation and the judge gave my ex-husband his blessing, his stamp of approval, allowing him to continue to control us and make us into prisoners in our own houses by frequently denying us contact with one another. As with Dr. King, I too could see the damage my ex was inflicting on our daughter, and I was powerless to stop it. After 8 years of being controlled by him through custody, my daughter came to live with me when she was nearly 15 and has been living with me for nearly 6 years now. She still cries when she recalls those horrible years. Yet in our case there was no physical abuse like Dr. King records. It was mostly non-physical. I assumed the lack of physical evidence was why the judge decided against me. But there was plenty of physical evidence in Dr. King's family, and the judge still put those boys with their abuser.

I am amazed at how well Dr. King kept it together. I didn't do nearly as well and the judge decided my ex was the more stable--after he'd made an emotional wreck of me. (anxiety; I needed Dr. King's professional services.) So he put our daughter with her dad, so he could make an emotional wreck of her, too. I have absolutely no confidence in our legal system. As a result, I continued to pay child support after my daughter came to live with me and her dad refused to sign a paper releasing me of that responsibility, lest her dad destroy her or the court order her to live with her dad again and/or see me even less than before, or the lawyers take more money than the remaining child support.

I have heard that it is the abusive men who are more likely to fight for custody of their children, and it is the abusive men who are more likely to win.

As Dr. King did, I also realized I was helpless to change our situation and felt driven to write "Behind the Hedge, A novel" to make a difference for others. [...]

I was shocked and saddened by what Dr.Jeanne King and her children were put through, most disturbingly, by the court system. I hope that this book will help open people's eyes as to how the judicial system can be manipulated into becoming merely an extension of the cycle of abuse, through a combination of: abuser wealth, court politics, and a lenghthy, relentless legal campaign, relying on the tactics of "scorched earth " and discrediting the abused party. Dr. King's courage, love, and determination is an inspiration to us all.............

Ms. King tells her story with profound truth while relating the further progressions of control when seeking help from the justice system. Ms. King will stir emotions you never realized existed, as her story relates the commonalities found in many abusive relationships. When there are children involved as with the author's situations, the pain and mental stress that fills a mother's daily life and sleepless nights, is unimaginable. A mother's heart is ripped to shreads when the abuser, as the author relates, attempts to control and turn the children away from their mother. This emotional disaster is beyond the choicest words yet this book penetrates the heart and soul like no other I've read. Ms. King has created an autobiography that, having lived the near nightmare she pens with all but the broken bones and legalities, I can only on say what Jeanne has told is only a small part of the tormenting suffering that only fades, but never really goes away. It is a pain that a mother only learns to deal with, with a lifetime of prayers that the children will one day understand, as the author writes. Jeanne found me sobbing, and yet I applaud her dedication to restoring others and the informative contents within. If you are in an abusive situation or know anyone that is, or are thinking about tieing the knot where signs of abuse exist, this book is pricless and may well change your thinking...if not your life. Author of: VOWS BETRAYED: A Story of Abuse, A Transformational Message

Excellent Book. This book gives documented accounts of personal history of domestic violence, teaches about the cycle of domestic abuse and gives an excellent overview of how the court system can keep a family in legal domestic abuse.

Would highly recommend it to anyone who might be in an abusive relationship.