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A Promise To Ourselves: Fatherhood, Divorce, And Family Law (2008)

by Alec Baldwin(Favorite Author)

3.31 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0312363362 (ISBN13: 9780312363369)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: "A Promise to Ourselves" is a thought-provoking, candid look at the family court system as seen through the eyes of Mr. Baldwin. It was not promoted as a tell-all book, and in fact Mr. Baldwin went out of his way during the book's promotion to stress that. He went through some very tough times trying to gain even basic rights as a father, and the intent of this book is to share his experience (without bashing his ex-wife) and provide guidance to parents in similar situations. He tells us about his frustration and heartbreak, and he's very candid and not afraid to show us his flaws and reveal his innermost feelings. I found his story to be quite compelling. During my career I have seen many cases of Parental Alienation Syndrome, and I know that the pain and frustration... more is very real. Many parents have given up on being a part of their children's lives because the obstacles were insurmountable. At the end of the book Mr. Baldwin provides practical information and advice with input from legal professionals. Clearly, this is an issue very close to his heart.I hope that someday Mr. Baldwin writes a book about his life and career. That book would probably be entertaining and funny. However, this book is not about the life and career of a famous actor. He could be anyone - and that's the point.
review 2: Interesting format, and he makes some reasonable points, but ultimately unsatisfying. Purports to be about the family law system and how it's stacked against fathers and fosters billable hours for lawyers more than the best interests of the child. But aside from one chapter in which he interviews a law professor about recent changes in the legal system, and the almost randomly inserted snippets from a few other guys' cases, it's 90% based on his contentious divorce from Kim Basinger (aka "my ex-wife" -- seldom refers to her by name).From the celebrity gossip standpoint, it's boring b/c many of the details are under wraps per court orders. From the legal case study standpoint, it's problematic that you don't get any of her side -- as you might imagine, in his telling he was eminently reasonable, and she was pointlessly hostile and litigious and tried relentlessly to turn his daughter against him, exemplifying Parental Alienation Syndrome.The famous voice-mail-rant at his daughter he obviously regrets, but mainly spreads blame to the ex-wife (daughter had had her phone turned off much of the time, so he was fed up with not being able to get through) and to tabloids for covering it. less

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