From Madness to Mutiny

I am pleased to write the foreword to the second edition of From Madness to Mutiny. I practiced family law for twenty-five years before transitioning to academia, where I continue my representation of abuse survivors. This second edition provides comprehensive case studies of what happens in court to protective mothers. These narrative case histories need to be taught in law school... This second edition of From Madness to Mutiny offers valuable information that attorneys for protective mothers need to know, and that law students need to learn. * Margaret B. Drew, JD, LLM, Associate Professor of Law, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School of Law * In this second edition of From Madness to Mutiny, Amy Neustein and Michael Lesher follow up on their first book, highlighting many of these issues and research findings that have come to the fore in the past twenty years since their first edition was published.... This excellent book ties together the controversies, issues, and the use of pseudoscience, and shows what has happened to far too many women and children in family court cases when there are verifiable allegations of abusive behaviors. * Robert Geffner, PhD, ABPP, ABN, Founding President, Family Violence & Sexual Assault Institute (FVSAI); dba Institute on Violence, Abuse & Trauma (IVAT); Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology (Retired), Alliant International University, San Diego, CA * I commend Neustein and Lesher for their meticulous research of a large volume of cases: they show how unsuspecting mothers and children are exploited by bad actors who appear to have penetrated the family courts in the United States. These matters pose a serious hazard to children caught in the crosshairs of biased judges, tendentious and tainted expert witnesses, unscrupulous law guardians, and self-serving visitation centers... and cry out for a Justice Department investigation forthwith. * Mark J. Mills, JD, MD, Forensic Psychiatrist * This book with its revelations and insights remains very much needed. The 'cottage industry' of parental alienation proponents has continued to grow despite a lack of foundational research to establish its validity, reliability, and safe use. Parental alienation is a legal weapon and is now becoming an international enterprise. It is big business and does much harm! Read this second edition of From Madness to Mutiny and join the struggle for justice in the family courts!"" * David L. Corwin, MD, FAPSAC, DFAACAP, Professor and Director of Forensic Services, University of Utah Department of Pediatrics * In From Madness to Mutiny, Neustein and Lesher provide a clear case for the need for comprehensive reform of today's family court system, how it is furthering the abuse of mothers who have already been victimized, and what has to change to ensure the safety and protection of the children who are too often caught in the crosshairs. * Lori Sokol, PhD, Executive Director/Editor-in-Chief, Women's eNews * While attending Fordham Law School I did an internship under Dr. Amy Neustein-where I learned of the harrowing struggles of protective mothers in battling an inherently biased family court and child welfare system. I can never 'unsee' the things that I witnessed firsthand: too many abused children are forced to suffer in the shadows, while their mothers are stripped of their legal rights and their dignity. I am entering the practice of law determined to shed light on a deeply flawed system and to make the changes necessary so that these horrors never happen again. * Lauren Lieberman, JD, Esq, Shalom Task Force, Family Advocacy and Policy Research in Domestic Violence * Amy Neustein's tireless efforts on behalf of all children who have fallen victim to the perils of abuse serve as a galvanizing force in the war against child exploitation. * Virginia Giuffre, Jeffrey Epstein accuser and renowned child advocate * 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. * Bergen County, The Magazine * Sociologist Amy Neustein and Attorney Michael Lesher paint a frightening portrait of how the American legal system oftentimes victimizes children who have been allegedly sexually abused by their fathers.... The analysis of specific court cases, family court proceedings... and judicial reform (or lack thereof) make From Madness to Mutiny a compelling, if emotionally difficult, read. * Paula Whitt, PhD, Women's Studies * From Madness to Mutiny... is one of the most disturbing books that I have reviewed. After getting past the horrendous accounts of injustice, the importance of the book is quite evident. It contributes not only to the sociology of the family, but also to our understanding of the inequities within the criminal justice system for women and children. * Michelle Bemiller, Contemporary Sociology * Neustein and Lesher elegantly describe the upside-down, inside-out, Alice-in-Wonderland framework that permeates the family courts.... Absent the total 'rebirthing' of the system called for by Neustein and Lesher, the family courts are like a ship whose captain and crew have gone utterly mad, whose only chance of redemption is mutiny by the passengers. * Mo Therese Hannah, PhD, Criminal Justice Review * From Madness to Mutiny... is the first scholarly volume to analyze the process and the consequences of systems failure in the family court, the place where such a failure has the most devastating effect on the most vulnerable members of society: children.... [I]t is a volume that belongs on the bookshelf of every professional who deals with child custody and child abuse, from lawyers and judges to psychologists and social workers. * Geraldine B. Stahly, Journal of Child Custody * Dr. [Judith] Herman was correct when she stated 'Atrocities... refuse to be buried. Remembering and telling the truth about terrible events are prerequisites both for the restoration of the social order and for the healing of individual victims.' Neustein and Lesher's book takes important steps toward these crucial goals. * Nancy S. Erickson, New York Law Journal * This book is a must read for every feminist, especially mothers. * Helen Grieco, Executive Director, California NOW, in the California NOW Activist *