They Are My Children, Too: A Mother's Struggle for Her Sons [Hardcover]

Catherine L. Meyer (Author), Sally Quinn (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

A harrowing and heartbreaking true story of international child abduction in the bestselling tradition of Not Without My Daughter but set in the heart of prosperous Europeby the wife of the current British Ambassador to the United States.. They Are My Children, Too is Catherine Meyers page-turning, play-by-play account of how a dream come truemeeting Prince Charming, and having two beautiful, healthy childrenbecomes a living nightmare. It is also the story of the suffering and determination of one woman fighting for her childrenand of the inadequacy of current international laws against child abduction to protect either parents or children against the occurrence of this kind of tragedy. They Are My Children, Too is Catherine Meyers page-turning, play-by-play account of how a dream come truemeeting Prince Charming, and having two beautiful, healthy childrenbecomes a living nightmare. It is also the story of the suffering and determination of one woman fighting for her childrenand of the inadequacy of current international laws against child abduction to protect either parents or children against the occurrence of this kind of tragedy. In the process of pleading internationally for the right to be with her children, Meyer met and married Christopher Meyer, now British Ambassador to the United States, providing a happy turn-of-eventsif not quite a happy endingto this story.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Now the wife of Christopher Meyer, British ambassador to the U.S., the author has attracted media attention to her four-year struggle to regain access to her two sons. The author contends that in 1994, her former husband, Hans-Peter Volkmann, a German doctor, violated a legal separation agreement by refusing to return nine-year-old Alexander and seven-year-old Constantin to their London home after they spent a six-week holiday with him in Germany. Meyer's account details the roadblocks she met in German courts often staffed by judges she felt were more sympathetic to the children's German father than to her, a British citizen of French and Russian extraction. Meyer was initially able to obtain court orders for the return of her children, but she claims that Volkmann hid the boys until a higher German court upheld his appeal on the grounds that it was in the children's best interests to remain in Germany. She also details the agreements Volkmann apparently made and broke for her court-ordered visits to her sons. According to Meyer, her ex-husband brainwashed their sons into thinking that their mother had abandoned them. Although the trauma Meyer has suffered as a parent is indisputably intense, her defensive descriptions of the early marital disagreements she had with Volkmann are unnecessary and do little to illuminate her tragic situation. In the end, though, the author makes a strong case for enforcement of the Hague Convention on Child Abduction, which prohibits kidnapping across frontiers.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Two young boys abducted by their father, their mother unable to visit or telephone, the courts delaying custody or visitation decisions as years passit's a horror story. With divorce rates remaining high, tales such as this one grow more common. Separated from her husband, the author lived with her sons in England, their father in Germany. The two boys visited him regularly during school holidays, and Meyer gloried in the idea that her sons would be Euro-children, fluent in three languages (English, French, German) and comfortable on or off the Continent. In the summer of 1994, the boys headed for a scheduled vacation with their father and never returned. They live today in Germany with him and his extended family, who used the authority of local courts to override international agreements regarding abducted children. Why? The boys were discriminated against in England and taunted as ``Nazi,'' the relatives charged; they also claimed that while Meyer worked she left her sons in the care of strangers. She disproved all the accusations, but not to the satisfaction of Germany's courts, which give weight to children's preferences. Meyer's sons, although only nine and seven years old, ``expressed a strong desire'' to be GermanMeyer believes because they had been manipulated by their father and taught to hate her. When her German and English lawyers could do no more, she pursued her case in the British Parliament, the French Cabinet, and finally through the media in England and France, where a version of this book first appeared. She also joined international activist groups like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Now married to the British ambassador to the US, she is able to speak to her children by telephone occasionally but has not been allowed to visit. A somewhat hysterical tone weakens Meyers arguments, but overall this is an eye-opener regarding the international swamp that can turn Euro-parents into bureaucratic victims. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891620150
• ISBN-13: 978-1891620157
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real page turner. Every parent should read this., May 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: They Are My Children, Too: A Mother's Struggle for Her Sons (Hardcover)

This is a heartrending and moving account of a mother's worst nightmare. To look to the law for justice and to have the system turn against you must be the most horrendous experience of all. Everyone should read this brilliant account in order to realize how unprotected one is as a parent and worse still, how unprotected children are today. This is an eye-opener. Who would ever suspect that in our democratic society that such a travesty of justice can still happen and affect so many families. When I started reading this book, I simply could not put it down.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loving the children, all of us, December 21, 1999

By 

js (U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: They Are My Children, Too: A Mother's Struggle for Her Sons (Hardcover)

Catherine Meyer's book really hit home. There were tears as I read every page. The tragedy of Mrs. Meyer's children and her relationship is becoming more and more evident in our society. All parents and childcare workers should read this book. I too, live in this terrible situation with Mrs. Meyer and can feel her pain. It has been four years and we see little or no results. Prayer has been the only answer to this. My heart goes out to all children, mothers, fathers, and

grandparents who are alienated from each other. Blessings to all of you.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unbelievably unjust, June 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: They Are My Children, Too: A Mother's Struggle for Her Sons (Hardcover)

If this horrible thing can happen to Catherine Meyer with little hope for resolution, think of how many others out there who are not as visible but are experiencing the same nightmare. The whole thing is tragic and wrong!