Customer Reviews

A Kidnapped Mind: A Mother's Heartbreaking Memoir of Parental Alienation

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a must read for anyone going through a divorce. It Chronicles one mother's efforts to stop her ex husband from alienating her son from her and his ultimate death through suicide. She does everything she thinks is the right thing to do, but ultimately it did not work, and gives her painful hindsight advice to all parents who are going through something like this. Parental Alienation Syndrome is real, this book proves it, maybe someday the courts will notice it.

If you, or someone you know, has had to deal with the nightmare of Parental Alienation, then this book is a must read. It eloquently and heart breakingly tells the story of how the legal system doesn't benefit anyone who follows the rules and guidelines. It also accurately describes the emotional rollercoaster of disbelief followed by incredible joy only to be replaced by a shattered heart that an alienated parent experiences as they watch their adored and loved child(ren) fall prey to the hands of someone who hates their ex-wife more than he loves his child(ren). I cried as I read my own story in Ms. Richardson's words and only pray that my own children do not share the same fate as her innocent son.

Pamela's case is definitely an example of the worst case scenario of what can happen when a parent manipulates the mind of a child and the judicial system enables this manipulation to continue unrestricted. Written from what had to be dozens of journals and tape recordings, it was so well written that I felt I was re-living her life. I believe it should be required reading for any parent considering divorce because it highlights the monumental impact words have on a developing mind. It should also be required reading for family law attorneys and therapists. My heart goes out to Pamela and her family.

This book is a must read for all those who deal with children, too many to begin listing. I stood by helplessly while my ex-husband lied and manipulated my two daughters into thinking that I had abandoned them. He would call me and taunt me with the lies that he was telling them. He too, lumped them into a category of one. I do not think that I can ever forgive the way he misused the trust that a trusting child put in him. All for pride and revenge. Too many divorces are ending up this way. I have come to see that there are generally two kinds of people in a marriage that doesn't work; the alienater and the alienated. This book shows how the justice system overlooks the helpless, innocent child. My heart cracked a little more each time Pamela was given a small victory only to have it so cruelly snatched back. PAS is so alive and so well and growing like a disease all around us. I have struggled every day for the last ten years to rebuild a relationship with my youngest daughter and while I have not given up hope that one day I will have my oldest daughter back in my life, that hope does dwindle each day. My husband and I have dealt with this pain two fold. While he is now rebuilding the relationships with his sons, his ex-wife has reaked havoc in their lives for many years. All four of our children as well as the two of us suffer from PAS. It took a lot of courage for Pamela Richardson to write this book and I applaude her. As parents, we need to make sure that all of our struggles are not in vain.

This is such a valuable book to read if you are experiencing parental alienation syndrome--your "ex" poisoning your children against you.
The author outlines the progressive steps her son's dad took to turn her son against her. One thing to pay attention to is that she gave up custody in the hopes that her son's dad would cool down and not continue with the hostility.
But as she found out, that action just made things a lot worse--the hostility continued unabated.
She also points out how the alienating parent is very likely to have mental illness issues. This makes sense: what mentally or emotionally healthy parent would force their child to choose between parents? What mentally or emotionally healthy parent would continue fighting when they have "won" full control of the child? What mentally or emotionally healthy parent would so abuse their child (because poisoning a child against the other parent is truly child abuse) that the child becomes so hopeless that the child suicides.
If you are experiencing this, read this book, don't take the high road with your child(ren)'s parent, hang in there and fight--your child's future is at stake.

Wow, what an amazing journey for Pamela and her family. What a gift she has shared so openly. I waited 3 months before I could get my hands on a copy from the U.S (I'm in Australia).. and I stopped everything and read it in less than 24 hours. I'm sharing it around to my family too. I'm also getting hold of Amy Bakers book called "I don't want to choose" so I can get 'someone' to read it with my alienated 9 year old daughter (since almost 2 yrs ago). I can't recommend this book highly enough, it deserves 10 stars!!! Our journeys are all different of course, our stories wide and varied... but there are the typical patterns of behaviour that stare out at us when we read this book... the games and attitudes are all too familiar. May we join together (within our respective countries) and create a deeper understanding with a loud and precise voice to the people that matter (ie. those that make decisions about our children's welfare). And the urgency is so much stronger after reading pamela's book... Endless Thankyou's sweet loving devoted mother of Dash xxoo

This book is a great read. Though the story is sad, the lesson is strong. With more and more information out in public on Alienation, perhaps society can understand this sad epidemic.

Thanks to Pamela for sharing her very sad and gut-wrenching story about her and her son Dash.

Pamela's experience clearly shows the extreme frustration alienated parents deal with when trying to convince judges, lawyers and health professionals that their children are the victims of parental alienation.

You won't be able to put this book down... be prepared to cry lots.

I just received this book and started reading it. I'm in tears with every page. This is my life and my kids lives. Such a shame that more people don't know about this abuse.

I am a victim of Parental Alienation myself, and so much of this I can relate to. It is well written and from the heart. It is somehow comforting to know that I am not the only one that has gone through this, and it validates all of the feelings that I have had about it. Until a person has gone through this, it is just so hard to believe that it could happen. I sincerely hope that my story has a happier ending, but I can certainly understand how the writer of this books feels.