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By: Sheena Berg
Award-winning actor and current star of 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin's well-chronicled divorce from Academy-Award-winning actress, Kim Basinger, and subsequent vindictive and acidic custody battle for their daughter, Ireland, is detailed in his new book, A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey through Fatherhood and Divorce, (St Martin's Press, $24.95) Baldwin and Basinger seemed to be the ideal Hollywood couple when they tied the knot in 1993, and after the birth of their daughter, Ireland, in 1995, were soon raised to "perfect glamorous family" status. That fell apart with their unexpected separation in 2000 and subsequent hostile divorce in 2002. Then began one of the most public and vicious custody battles on record, and Baldwin details his own pain and unhappiness as he battled daily, like so many other alienated parents, for equal access to his daughter who was being methodically turned against him by her mother. Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is described by leading expert, Dr Richard Warshak in his groundbreaking book, Divorce Poison, as a deliberate and concerted scheme by one parent to turn their offspring against the other parent by bad mouthing, criticizing and brainwashing, in an effort to remove them from the picture. Alec Baldwin writes passionately about his vivid experience of divorce poison that pushed him to the brink emotionally, professionally and financially. He points out that besides systematic alienation, non-custodial parents (often fathers) are forced to reluctantly walk away from their children, due to the overwhelming bias of judges, lawyers and court-appointed counselors. He says that a big reason for writing the book is because, "There is.... enough injustice, inefficiency and corruption within the system to compel us as a society to closely examine what is being perpetrated on innocent men and women." Baldwin was also humiliated by the media exposure of the angry, irritated voice mail left for his daughter who repeatedly failed to answer his prearranged phone calls. The good news is that Baldwin reports that things are currently good with his daughter, and will continue to improve, as long as her mother lets them alone. This is a sincere, engrossing and very personal account of PAS and divorce poison, and is a useful guide and very encouraging for the many divorced parents who are experiencing less public but equally as devastating custody battles and spiteful ex-spouses. Co-parenting after separation and divorce should really be more about the child, with both parents nurturing healthy child-parental communication, and putting aside their own conflict and need for revenge. Read Alec Baldwin's book to learn firsthand about Parental Alienation, and check out Dr Warshak's Divorce Poison for more insight into the warning signs of parental alienation and excellent advice on how to counteract it.
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Sheena Berg, a blended family coach, writes for the FREE StepHeroes stepparenting newsletter. Read Sheena's original version of this Alec Baldwin -- Parental Alientation article and learn more about "Divorce Poison". WEBMASTERS: Use of this article requires links to remain intact.
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