Best Children & Family Law

Bestselling novelist Gay Courter recounts her experiences as a Guardian ad Litem, a volunteer court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for children involved in the legal system due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment. How Gay Courter (The Midwife) became a guardian ad litem, a court-appointed advocate for children caught up in the Florida justice system, is detailed with almost Dickensian touches of abuse and familial neglect in the lives of her charges. She views the legal, bureaucratic, and emotional issues involved through the eyes of the children, vividly recounting their tumultuous placements in foster homes, humiliating court cases, heartbreaking separation from parents, and personal conversations.

Dead, Insane, or in Jail: A CEDU Memoir is named for the range of options open to the author at 14, if he ran away from the cult his parents inadvertently inducted him into. Although Rocky Mountain Academy has closed its doors, several hundred residential teen-treatment programs, religious reeducation camps, and places that commit spiritual assassination still operate without oversight in the United States. Now imagine that the only solution your parents can devise is sending you away to be “fixed.” Zack’s touching, true account of being trapped in the “scared straight” industry just might be the book your reluctant teenage reader has been seeking. With gut-level insight, humor and frankness, he describes the inner experience of a precocious 14 year-old who was engulfed and overwhelmed by these bizarre, yet legal, forms of psychological abuse. It is sad the abuse of teenagers to tough love programs by mis-informed parents and politicians did not end with the revelations concerning the concept originator Synanon. Zack Bonnie’s memoir is a riveting tale of shame, intimidation, coercion, and frank abuse in the name of “treatment.” The continued existence of programs like CEDU should be considered a national disgrace. I join Zack in advocating for regulation and reform so that facilities like RMA can no longer manipulate and harm entire families. With the publication of his book, Mr. Bonnie is becoming an advocate for change in the Troubled Teen industry, and hopes to help kids and their families find alternatives to facilities like the one he describes in his memoir.

If you are dealing with an overtly hostile, inflammatory, deceitful, or manipulative ex-spouse, you will learn how to find and work with an attorney and prepare for a custody evaluation. With this book as your guide, you will be able to navigate this difficult process and learn powerful skills that will help you maintain a healthy relationship with your kids, fight unfair accusations, and uphold your rights as a parent. Amy J. L. Baker, Brian Ludmer, and J. Michael Bone have given alienated parents a comprehensive road map that allows them to make their journey through this highly emotional period with level heads and hearts. The authors’ work empowers readers and leaves them feeling revived, secure, and confident as they travel to their final destination: reunification with their children.”. — Jill Egizii , president of the Parental Alienation Awareness Organization, USA. The three authors have created a book that is both scholarly and highly practical, which will be helpful for mothers and fathers who find themselves coping with a difficult, overly litigious marital separation or divorce. Although this book is primarily intended for divorcing parents, it will also be good reading for mental health and legal professionals, including judges.”. — William Bernet, MD , professor emeritus in the department of psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN.

Fresh off a summer spent interning in legal hell, he is only mildly certain he even wants to continue down the path he’s on. Armed only with his own trepidations and the loyalty of those around him, Drake must find a way to save his friend and his own growing skepticism before it’s too late. Dustin Stevens is the author of the novels Number Four, Ink, Twelve, Just a Game, and 21 Hours.

In When Happily Ever After Ends you will discover and use the three universal laws of divorce that apply to everyone, everywhere, all the time. * Craft a settlement that gets you more of what you want and what you need. * Navigate through the divorce process with knowledge instead of fear. * Create a financial plan you can live with. * Deal with a difficult spouse. * Negotiate more effectively. With When Happily Ever After Ends , you can : Craft a settlement that gets you more of what you want and need Navigate through the divorce process with knowledge, not fear Create a financial plan you can live with Negotiate more effectively with your spouse Learn better ways to deal with your Ex. Filled with practical information and interesting stories, this book is cover-to-cover common sense.

Taking place in the idyllic town of South Lake Tahoe, CA , Long Blue Line is the coming of age of Elizabeth Jeter. After reading a romance book sensationalizing a young woman's perfect life following the hookup with a wealthy prince charming, Elizabeth set out to create her own fairy tale ending. Her obsession with pregnancy, social issues , independence, and, ultimately drugs is chronicled in brutally honest Prose that will leave you spellbound. " Elizabeth wrote this book in order for teens and the parents of teens to become aware of a harsh reality: many teen girls plan secret pregnancies!" In addition to her roles as freelance writer, blogger, best-selling author and web design specialist, she has helped over one hundred aspiring authors launch and sell ebooks in nearly every genre. Her ultimate passion has always been writing and she candidly recounts her challenging journey in the controversial book, Long Blue Line-which is available on Amazon.com.

In The Great Escape , Angus Deaton--one of the foremost experts on economic development and on poverty--tells the remarkable story of how, beginning 250 years ago, some parts of the world experienced sustained progress, opening up gaps and setting the stage for today's disproportionately unequal world. Demonstrating how changes in health and living standards have transformed our lives, The Great Escape is a powerful guide to addressing the well-being of all nations. Angus Deaton, Winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in EconomicsWinner of the 2013 William G. Bowen Award, Industrial Relations Section of Princeton University. A "Best Business Book of the Year for 2013" selected on LinkedIn by Matthew Bishop, Economics Editor of The Economist. "[A]n illuminating and inspiring history of how mankind's longevity and prosperity have soared to breathtaking heights in modern times. [Deaton's] book gives a stirring overview of the economic progress and medical milestones that, starting with the Industrial Revolution and accelerating after World War II, have caused life expectancies to soar." Few economists are better equipped to answer this question than Angus Deaton of Princeton University, who has thought hard about measuring international well-being and is not afraid to roam through history. Refreshingly, Mr Deaton also reaches beyond a purely economic narrative to encompass often neglected dimensions of progress such as better health. [T]he theme requires a big canvas and bold brushwork, and Mr Deaton capably offers both." Unusual for scholarly works in economics, this book is rendered in easily accessible prose, supported by fascinating statistics presented graphically." "As the title of his book suggests, Deaton sketches out the story of how many people have escaped from poverty and early death. " The Great Escape combines, to a rare degree, technical sophistication, moral urgency, the wisdom of experience, and an engaging and accessible style. It will deepen both your appreciation of the miracle of modern economic growth and your conviction that the benefits can and should be much more widely enjoyed." The story he tells is much more than an inexorable march of progress--it has also been unequal, uneven, and incomplete, and at each step, politics has played a defining role. " The Great Escape tells the two biggest stories in history: how humanity got healthy and wealthy, and why some people got so much healthier and wealthier than others. "This factual, sober, and very timely book deals with issues surrounding the higher incomes and longer lives enjoyed by an increasing proportion of the world's population. Unique in its focus and scope, exceptional knowledge and coherence, and careful argumentation, The Great Escape is highly illuminating and a delight to read."

Grace and Justice on Death Row: A Race Against Time to Free an Innocent Man tells the story of Alfred Dewayne Brown, a man who spent over twelve years in prison (ten of them on Texas’ infamous Death Row) for a high-profile crime he did not commit, and his lawyer, Brian Stolarz, who dedicated his career and life to secure his freedom. Grace And Justice On Death Row also addresses many issues facing the criminal justice system and the death penalty – race, class, adequate defense counsel, and intellectual disability, and proposes reforms. Instead of living bitterly and justifiably mad, Dewayne Brown finds forgiveness. —Craig Melvin, MSNBC news anchor and Today show national correspondent. He's worked for the prominent white-collar criminal defense boutique in New York, Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason & Anello, and the international law firm, K&L Gates LLP, in Washington, D.C. Stolarz was also a Staff Attorney for the Criminal Defense Division of The Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn, New York, where he served as counsel to hundreds of indigent defendants facing all types of criminal offenses. Stolarz has received several awards for his dedication to pro bono service, including the Pro Bono Legal Service Award from the John Carroll Society and the 2014 Caritas Award, the highest honor awarded by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in recognition of work for the indigent and oppressed.

A renowned legal scholar tells the definitive story of Hollingsworth v. Perry, the trial that stands as the most potent argument for marriage equality Speak Now tells the story of a watershed trial that unfolded over twelve tense days in California in 2010. This glorious human rights story, elegantly recounted by one whose own life has been transformed, should change forever the global conversation about the real meaning of same-sex marriage.” —HAROLD HONGJU KOH , Sterling Professor of International Law, Yale Law School. “In this marvelously intricate tale of ‘two civil ceremonies’—a marriage and a trial—Kenji Yoshino offers brilliant insights into the ways a well-run civil trial can serve as an engine of cultural awakening .”. — LAURENCE TRIBE , Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard University. “Not only a compelling and deeply felt account of the first federal same-sex marriage trial, Speak Now is a rich courtroom drama that attests to the transformative power of law .”. — LINDA GREENHOUSE , Joseph Goldstein Lecturer in Law, Yale Law School; New York Times contributing writer. “Beautifully crafted…A celebration of the power of the adversarial system, at its best, to distinguish fact from bombast. ‘Let there be a trial,’ Yoshino concludes, and by vividly describing the gay rights trial of the new century, he has created a gripping and memorable constitutional narrative .”. — JEFFREY ROSEN , President & CEO, National Constitution Center; Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School. " The beauty and elegance of Yoshino's writing about law at times stops you short . There will likely be no more important trial about same-sex marriage than Hollingsworth v. Perry and there will likely be no more important book about that trial than this one.”. — DALE CARPENTER , author of Flagrant Conduct ; Earl R. Larson Professor of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Law, University of Minnesota Law School. “Kenji Yoshino seamlessly weaves together the story of the landmark litigation over same-sex marriage in California, incisive insights about the power of trials, and personal reflections about his own marriage and parenting. “ Speak Now is a book every law student should read… It does for civil litigation and equal protection what Gideon's Trumpet did for criminal adjudication and the right to counsel : marrying a gripping case study with a broader understanding of how law develops.”. — PAM KARLAN, Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law, Stanford Law School. “ Speak Now i s a uniquely thoughtful account of one of the most important legal trials of our generation, from someone who truly understands the movement for equality. Kenji Yoshino is the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at New York University School of Law.

He was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of the US’s criminal justice system. ‘Unfairness in the justice system is a major theme of our age … This book brings new life to the story by placing it in two affecting contexts: Stevenson's life work and the deep strain of racial injustice in American life … You don't have to read too long to start cheering for this man. Just Mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful … Bryan Stevenson has been angry about [the criminal justice system] for years, and we are all the better for it.’ The New York Times. When Stevenson was a 23-year-old Harvard law student, he started an internship in Georgia where his first assignment was to deliver a message to a man living on death row. This is a title for the many young adults who have a parent or loved one in the prison system and the many others who are interested in social justice, the law, and the death penalty. [It] demonstrates, as powerfully as any book on criminal justice that I’ve ever read, the extent to which brutality, unfairness, and racial bias continue to infect criminal law in the United States. But at the same time that [Bryan] Stevenson tells an utterly damning story of deep-seated and widespread injustice, he also recounts instances of human compassion, understanding, mercy, and justice that offer hope. Just Mercy is a remarkable amalgam, at once a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.” —David Cole, The New York Review of Books “A searing, moving and infuriating memoir . This book brings new life to the story by placing it in two affecting contexts: [Bryan] Stevenson’s life work and the deep strain of racial injustice in American life. Against tremendous odds, Stevenson has worked to free scores of people from wrongful or excessive punishment, arguing five times before the Supreme Court. Stevenson has been angry about [the criminal justice system] for years, and we are all the better for it.” —Ted Conover, The New York Times Book Review “Inspiring . “As deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty.” —The Financial Times “Brilliant.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God’s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. Just Mercy is his inspiring and powerful story.” —John Grisham “Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, and Just Mercy is extraordinary. Bryan Stevenson is a real-life, modern-day Atticus Finch who, through his work in redeeming innocent people condemned to death, has sought to redeem the country itself. It is inspiring and suspenseful—a revelation.” —Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns “Words such as important and compelling may have lost their force through overuse, but reading this book will restore their meaning, along with one’s hopes for humanity.” —Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains “Bryan Stevenson is America’s young Nelson Mandela, a brilliant lawyer fighting with courage and conviction to guarantee justice for all. Just Mercy should be read by people of conscience in every civilized country in the world to discover what happens when revenge and retribution replace justice and mercy.

The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia provides the most thorough overview of the ethical and legal issues raised by assisted suicide and euthanasia--as well as the most comprehensive argument against their legalization--ever published. [This] is the most important book published so far in consideration of ethical and legal issues. The author provides a thorough overview of the ethical and legal issues raised by assisted suicide and euthanasia, as well as the most comprehensive argument against their legalization. Gorsuch reviews the case law and the range of ethical and legal issues surrounding assisted suicide and offers a strong argument against legalization of these practices, even as he considers both positions in the debate. For those who need insight into the part played by legislators and courts of justice in recent euthanasia discussions, Neil M. Gorsuch's book . Neil M. Gorsuch builds a powerful moral and legal argument against [assisted suicide's] legalization, one based on a principle that has largely been overlooked in the debate--the idea that human life is intrinsically valuable and that intentional killing is wrong. Gorsuch is especially successful when exploring the relevant legal cases raised by assisted-suicide and euthanasia advocacy. "Gorsuch's book is an exceptionally fine contribution to one of the most timely debates in ethics and public policy: the question of assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. "In a world where there are now many books and articles on assisted suicide and euthanasia, Neil Gorsuch's book is a timely and significant contribution. While the primary focus is on the law, with a systematic survey of pertinent legal and court decisions, the book manages as well to nicely set the problem within a broader international context.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • America’s Bitter Pill is Steven Brill’s acclaimed book on how the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was written, how it is being implemented, and, most important, how it is changing—and failing to change—the rampant abuses in the healthcare industry. But by chance America’s Bitter Pill ends up being much more—because as Brill was completing this book, he had to undergo urgent open-heart surgery. [Brill] has pulled off something extraordinary.” —The New York Times Book Review “A thunderous indictment of what Brill refers to as the ‘toxicity of our profiteer-dominated healthcare system.’ ” — Los Angeles Times “A sweeping and spirited new book [that] chronicles the surprisingly juicy tale of reform.” — The Daily Beast “One of the most important books of our time.” —Walter Isaacson “Superb . Brill has achieved the seemingly impossible—written an exciting book about the American health system.” — The. New York Review of Books From the Hardcover edition. persuasive, shocking.” — The New York Times “An energetic, picaresque, narrative explanation of much of what has happened in the last seven years of health policy . For its insights into our nation’s fiscal, psychological and corporeal health—and for our own long-term social well-being—it is a book that deserves to be read and discussed widely by anyone interested in the politics and policy of healthcare.” — Los Angeles Times. Through revealing personal stories, dogged political reporting, and clear analysis, it makes the battle over Obama’s healthcare plan come alive and shows why it matters. Now it is up to the administration to prove him wrong about what the legislation does to the trajectory of health-care costs.” —Peter R. Orszag, Bloomberg View “Brill’s book performs an admirable job of getting behind the scenes. [A] state-of-the-nation account of the broken U.S. healthcare system and Obama’s partially successful attempt to heal it.” — The National. “A landmark study, filled with brilliant reporting and insights, that shows how government really works—or fails to work.” —Bob Woodward “ America’s Bitter Pill is deeply impressive, an important diagnosis of what America needs to know if we’re ever to develop a healthcare system that is fair, efficient, and effective.” —Tom Brokaw “In America’s Bitter Pill, Steven Brill brilliantly ties together not only the saga of Obamacare, but also the larger story of our dysfunctional healthcare system and its disastrous impact on both businesses and ordinary Americans. A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, he also founded and ran Court TV, The American Lawyer magazine, ten regional legal newspapers, and Brill’s Content magazine. Brill was the author of Time ’s March 4, 2013, Special Report “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us,” for which he won the 2014 National Magazine Award for Public Service.