Description

Psychologist and expert witness Sharon Lamb evaluates parents. The conclusions she reaches can mean that some parents will never see their children again. She is well-trained and knows what’s in the best interest of the child. But when her son’s struggle with opioid addiction comes to light, she starts to doubt her right to make judgments about other mothers. Lamb introduces readers to the forensic evaluation of parenting, particularly in high stakes cases concerning termination of parental rights. She details for us the tools of her trade, including tests and observation techniques. She describes vividly the plight of individual parents, mothers in particular, struggling to make stable homes for their kids amidst the economic and emotional turmoil of their lives, in the context of the opioid epidemic which has ravaged her home state of Vermont. In her office, during visits with their children, and in family court, we meet the parents waiting anxiously for Lamb’s verdict: have they turned their lives around under child welfare’s watchful eye? Do they understand their children’s needs? In short, are they good enough? What is good enough? Lamb turns that question on herself in the midst of her shocking discovery that her son has an opiate addiction. Amazed at her own denial, feeling powerless to help him, Lamb confronts the heartache she can bring into the lives of others, and her power to tear families apart. As an expert, a professor, and a mother, Dr. Lamb gives voice to the near impossible standards we attach to the concept of motherhood.

Author: Lamb, Sharron

Topic: Unabridged Audio – Misc.Nonfiction
Media: Audio Product
ISBN: 1974962229
Language: English
Pages: