Courtesy of PAAO (http://www.paawareness.com)
My Story : I am now 44 years old and I was a child of divorce. I have 4 siblings and my parents
divorced when I was about 10 yrs old. I was alienated from my father in the 70's as the result of
their divorce. Visits with my father tapered off from every Sunday to just holidays, and then I
lost any kind of relationship I should have had with my father.
I did not begin to develop a
relationship with my father until after my mother passed away, 20 years later. Along with the
alienation, came spiritual abuse because one parent decided to become a born again christian/catholic
and the other walked away from catholicism. Each parent continually attacking the other. Although
I believe that my father did not have the best parenting skills, my mother lacked the ability to
do the job as a single parent. I just recently married for the first time and hopefully only time.
Thanks.
My Story : first, let me say thank you.thank you for for all that your doing to help facilitate
relationships between parents and their children.i'm a 37 year old man who has experienced this
issue(still being affected)becouse as im writting this i,m sobbing after seeing mr baldwins
interview on the view.
The pain inflicted on the childern involved follows them their whole lives, my parents divorced and my mother won
cusidyu of me and my newly born sister, my father had visitation ever other weekend and a month in the summers, my
mother never to us childern ever made it apparent tha we wouldnt be allowed to see our father, but looking back she
didnt make it anevent that was easy or pleasent for anybody concerned. and the sometimes very clever and subtle ways
she influenced our ideas about our dad and his life, made her job of still trying to hurt , punnish him for the
disicentergration of their marrage alot easier. and at times it wasnt subtle or clever out right condimnation of
him and the choices he made. bolth remarried and things got worse, me and my sister were completly seperated by
an ocean for years.
it became apperant to me that this issue was what it was when i came to my mother and told her that her husband
(present) had been molesting me and it had been going on for years. her responce to me was your lying your father
has put you up to this to get cusdutity your you kids. i coulnt belive my ears their i was coming to my mother and
comming clean but what had been happing to right undre her nose, and it was about her and the fight with my father
not that her child had been taken advantage of and that her daughter (6 now) could possible be in danger.
back to court we go will this endless nightmare push pull manupliate, decive, ever end/ as a childit hurts confusses,
and tears at their soul, and the lessons it teachs are not the oned childern should ever have to learn especial at the
hands of their parents, or the courts a place tht we are taught to a good and safe and fair place, come to find out
all they are is a tool used by who ever can afford to hire lawers who will ensure angry people can drag things out
lng enough to completly destroy lives of all concerned, i never got to really know my fater, he has passed way1991,
and the time we did have ws spent trying to undue dammage done for years, there was a breif period of time
( a year or so befor his passing that we started to finialy connect and he was gone.
thru years of all kinds of self
abuse and therpy and spirtual joury, ive been able to confront my mother about the actual truth that i could now
understand and on some level forgive her, (SHE DID WHAT SHE HAD TO FOR HER AT THAT TIME REGARDLESS ) , for myself
i had to clear the air so i could somehow move on with my life. I KNOW ALL CASES ARE INDIVIDUAL, AND CIRCUMSTANCES
DIFFER, BUT THE PAIN FOR THE PEOPLE INVOLVED EATS AT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, AND THAT I'M SURE IS THE SAME
WHETHER YOUR THE PARENT OR CHILD. so i would like to offer my story to you and all who will listen, you can use this
for anypourpose you see fit to help the childern and the parents alienated, i'm willing to speak and tell my storyto
any media or legal venue that might furture help the lives of people concerned, thank you once again,
