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Solomon's Sword : Two Families and the Children the State Took Away by Michael Shapiro (1999, Hardcover)

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In an era when headlines often seem dominated by horrific stories about abused children,Solomon's Swordweaves together the elements of two painful custody battles into a memorable book that no reader who cares about children will be able to put aside. The first story unfolds around Gina Pellegrino, who, in 1991, hours after giving birth to a daughter, abandons the child in a Connecticut hospital, and Cynthia and Jerry LaFlamme, a childless New Haven couple who have waited five years for an adoptive baby. When asked by a caseworker to name their highest priority--do they prefer a boy, a girl, an infant, a toddler--the LaFlammes say they simply want a "risk-free baby," one who can't be taken from them under any circumstances. Four months after the baby girl has come to live with them--and soon before their adoption would become legal--Pellegrino reappears, hoping to reclaim the child. Next, Michael Shapiro describes the Melton sisters, living with nineteen children amid squalor and vermin in a drafty Chicago rowhouse. One snowy night in February 1994, policemen discover the children and evacuate them as a TV camera rolls, searing into our collective conscience shameful images of the officers emerging from the house with child after child in their arms. Though the children are not victims of outright abuse, their neglect compels authorities to hold the threat of permanent removal over their hapless mothers. In examining the collision between Gina Pellegrino's belated commitment to her daughter and the LaFlammes' threatened adoption of the girl, as well as the Meltons' inability to understand their parental shortcomings, Shapiro meets judges, lawyers, social workers, clergy, and therapists who must advocate a course of action not only in these two cases, but in thousands more every year across America. Reading about these dedicated people who are in the vanguard of new approaches to the problem of mistreated children will leave readers hopeful that we are finally learning how to ameliorate this enduring national disgrace.Solomon's Swordsheds new light on a dire social problem in a powerful book that will influence public policy for years to come.

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Crown Publishing Group, T.H.E.
ISBN-10
0812923944
ISBN-13
9780812923940
eBay Product ID (ePID)
220885

Product Key Features

Book Title
Solomon's Sword : Two Families and the Children the State Took Away
Author
Michael Shapiro
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Topic
Family Law / General
Publication Year
1999
Genre
Law
Number of Pages
Xv, 331 Pages

Dimensions

Item Length
9.6in
Item Height
1.2in
Item Width
6.5in
Item Weight
22.4 Oz

Additional Product Features

Lc Classification Number
Hv741.S432 1999
Reviews
"With grace, style, and uncommon sensitivity, Michael Shapiro has focused a keen journalistic light upon the pain, shame, and brutality that often result when the judicial system comes face to face with the needs of children and families under fire. Solomon's Sword is compelling and intensely thought provoking. An important book." --Jonathan Kellerman, novelist and clinical professor of pediatrics and psychology at the USC School of Medicine "These stories of failed families and failed child welfare systems are gripping--and deeply disturbing. There is not a glib or facile sentence in this book. Shapiro's compassionate but unsentimental analysis shows that we can do better to protect children and strengthen families, but only by recognizing the complexities he so richly describes." --Lisbeth B. Schorr, author of Common Purpose: Strengthening Families and Neighborhoods to Rebuild America "Child neglect is the most confusing and heartbreaking social issue of our time. With first-rate reporting and the flair of a fine storyteller, Michael Shapiro has illuminated a dark corner of American life--and lit a way home." --Jonathan Alter, Newsweek columnist and NBC News commentator "This disquieting book will make you ask: What is in the best interests of the child? Does it make sense to sever neglected children's ties to their parents? You can't read Solomon's Sword without asking these questions--and wondering whether, indeed, we're going about it all wrong. It is a daring and important contribution to the debate." --Alex Kotlowitz, author of The Other Side of the River "With remarkable reporting and original insights, Michael Shapiro tells the moving story of two families losing their children, in a way such stories have never been told before. Anyone who's ever worried about what unelected judges and welfare officials were doing to mothers, fathers and their babies should read this book." --Jay Mathews, Washington Post education reporter
Copyright Date
1999
Target Audience
Trade
Lccn
98-048830
Dewey Decimal
362.7/0973
Dewey Edition
21
Illustrated
Yes

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Solomon's Sword : Two Families and the Children the State Took Away by Michael Shapiro (1999, Hardcover)

About this product

Product Information

Product Identifiers

Product Key Features

Dimensions

Additional Product Features

All listings for this product

item 1 Solomons Sword: Two Families and the Children the State Took Away - VERY GOOD

item 2 Solomons Sword: Two Families and the Children the State Took Away - GOOD

item 3 Solomon's Sword : Two Families and the Children the State Took Aw

item 4 Solomon's Sword : Two Families and the Children the State Took Aw

item 5 Solomon's Sword: Two Families and the Children the State Took Away

item 6 Solomon's Sword: Two Families and t..., Shapiro, Michae

item 7 Solomon's Sword: Two Families and t..., Shapiro, Michae

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