New Book Exposes "Divorce Games" That Can Lead Women to Jail, Custody Loss, and Even Unemployment
In Hanging On By My Fingernails: Surviving the New Divorce Gamesmanship, and How a Scratch Can Land You in Jail, journalist Janie McQueen blends memoir with incisive reporting to reveal common yet little-discussed divorce tactics that can derail women's lives.
Atlanta, GA, April 11, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Ask any divorce attorney, police officer, or bail bondsman: Who’s missing the kids’ Saturday morning sports games because they’re trying to post bail? Surprisingly, the team moms. All across America, suburban moms are falling victim to a vicious—and increasingly common—ploy. Known in the legal community as “the new divorce gamesmanship,” it involves calling 9-1-1 on one’s spouse to report accidental scratches or “violence” in an effort to get the upper hand in a divorce or child custody battle. And it’s just the beginning.
In Hanging On By My Fingernails: Surviving the New Divorce Gamesmanship, and How a Scratch Can Land You in Jail, author Janie McQueen, a longtime journalist and published author—and victim of these ploys herself—blends memoir with incisive reporting to reveal vital information that will keep women from falling prey to tactics that can derail their lives. The book already has received endorsements from some of the nation’s top legal talent, including family law expert and high-profile divorce attorney Randy Kessler, who is current Chair of the Family Law Division of the American Bar Association (www.ksfamilylaw.com).
“This finely crafted, sometimes shocking book exposes tactics legal professionals have defended against for years,” said Kessler, whose exclusive insights appear in the book’s special how-to section How to Spot a Set-up and What to do. “It’s well written, much needed, and it’s going to help legions of women avoid some very nasty traps.”
The arrest ploy can have devastating consequences on the victim, leading to probation, criminal trials, heartbreaking child custody battles, lingering records, cruel distortion campaigns, and even unemployment as employers trawl the Internet for background checks. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the tactic is that it manipulates women’s own protective laws, such as the federal Violence Against Women Act, against them.
“Holding On By My Fingernails exposes how men manipulate the single thing women thought they had on their side: the criminal justice system,” said criminal defense attorney and records expungement expert Tamara Holder, a popular FOX News analyst who signed on to pen the foreword as soon as she learned about the book (www.theholderposition.com). She also brings to the book clear insights into complex record-clearing laws, and the effects even a dropped criminal charge can have on employment.
“It is time to expand awareness among prosecutors, police and attorneys, and realize that this type of abuse is becoming more prevalent,” she said. “This book also gives women hope and courage, and most of all, real tools to break free.”
McQueen is the author of three previous books, including The Magic Bookshelf, a critically acclaimed children’s literacy guide and library staple that was featured as a series in the Los Angeles Times Book Review.
She said she decided to delve into the issue and find out what was really going on after experiencing “divorce gamesmanship” firsthand. At first she thought she was alone, but was later stunned to learn how rampant the ploys really are, she said.
“I will bet every fourth person has experienced them, or knows someone who has,” McQueen said. “But the shame factor alone has kept women from sharing. The ploys are brutal, and can derail your life unless you’re extremely savvy. It’s time to bring them to light and offer some defenses.”
Hanging On By My Fingernails: Surviving the New Divorce Gamesmanship, and How a Scratch Can Land You in Jail, is due out April 17 from Burning Sage Publishing House of Atlanta. For more information, or to contact McQueen and her sources, email contact@janiemcqueen.com, or call 404-585-6343.
View the complete media kit at www.janiemcqueen.com, or http://myppk.com/PPKs/indexC.aspx?PPK=11227.
In Hanging On By My Fingernails: Surviving the New Divorce Gamesmanship, and How a Scratch Can Land You in Jail, author Janie McQueen, a longtime journalist and published author—and victim of these ploys herself—blends memoir with incisive reporting to reveal vital information that will keep women from falling prey to tactics that can derail their lives. The book already has received endorsements from some of the nation’s top legal talent, including family law expert and high-profile divorce attorney Randy Kessler, who is current Chair of the Family Law Division of the American Bar Association (www.ksfamilylaw.com).
“This finely crafted, sometimes shocking book exposes tactics legal professionals have defended against for years,” said Kessler, whose exclusive insights appear in the book’s special how-to section How to Spot a Set-up and What to do. “It’s well written, much needed, and it’s going to help legions of women avoid some very nasty traps.”
The arrest ploy can have devastating consequences on the victim, leading to probation, criminal trials, heartbreaking child custody battles, lingering records, cruel distortion campaigns, and even unemployment as employers trawl the Internet for background checks. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the tactic is that it manipulates women’s own protective laws, such as the federal Violence Against Women Act, against them.
“Holding On By My Fingernails exposes how men manipulate the single thing women thought they had on their side: the criminal justice system,” said criminal defense attorney and records expungement expert Tamara Holder, a popular FOX News analyst who signed on to pen the foreword as soon as she learned about the book (www.theholderposition.com). She also brings to the book clear insights into complex record-clearing laws, and the effects even a dropped criminal charge can have on employment.
“It is time to expand awareness among prosecutors, police and attorneys, and realize that this type of abuse is becoming more prevalent,” she said. “This book also gives women hope and courage, and most of all, real tools to break free.”
McQueen is the author of three previous books, including The Magic Bookshelf, a critically acclaimed children’s literacy guide and library staple that was featured as a series in the Los Angeles Times Book Review.
She said she decided to delve into the issue and find out what was really going on after experiencing “divorce gamesmanship” firsthand. At first she thought she was alone, but was later stunned to learn how rampant the ploys really are, she said.
“I will bet every fourth person has experienced them, or knows someone who has,” McQueen said. “But the shame factor alone has kept women from sharing. The ploys are brutal, and can derail your life unless you’re extremely savvy. It’s time to bring them to light and offer some defenses.”
Hanging On By My Fingernails: Surviving the New Divorce Gamesmanship, and How a Scratch Can Land You in Jail, is due out April 17 from Burning Sage Publishing House of Atlanta. For more information, or to contact McQueen and her sources, email contact@janiemcqueen.com, or call 404-585-6343.
View the complete media kit at www.janiemcqueen.com, or http://myppk.com/PPKs/indexC.aspx?PPK=11227.
Contact
Burning Sage Publishing House
Mary Gettys
404-585-6343
www.janiemcqueen.com
Mary Gettys
404-585-6343
www.janiemcqueen.com
Contact
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