Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 145
Grandparents’ Rights: What Every Grandparent Needs to Know
Patricia Perkins Slorah
1st Books Library, 2003, ISBN: 1-4107-6628-4 (e-book), ISBN: 1-4107-6627-6
(paperback)
Patricia Perkins Slorah, has written an easy-to- read book for grandparents who are
considering assistance from the legal community to secure visitation with their
grandchildren. The book is aptly titled, Grandparents’ Rights: What Every Grandparent
Needs to Know. For grandparents who are unfamiliar with the court system, Ms. Slorah
provides helpful guidance. Although any book about the current state of the laws would be
outdated at some point in the future as to what certain laws provide, this book provides
timeless personal stories of grandparents who have struggled to gain visitation rights with
their grandchildren.
For readers who are not grandparents, the book is an eye-opener about a growing societal
problem – neglectful parents, abusive parents, or a parent who has lost a spouse and then
turns his or her back on the children‘s grandparents. In several of the vignettes,
grandparents became caregivers for their grandchildren and then sought legal visitation
rights when their relationships with the parents became estranged, or when other problems
surfaced such as divorcing parents, substance abuse, or death of a parent. State by state,
legislatures are enacting laws for grandparents to have legal grounds for visitations with
their grandchildren. At the heart of these laws is recognition on the part of legislatures that
when dysfunction occurs in immediate family units, one solution may be to provide
grandparents with rights to see their grandchildren.
The author tells the personal stories from the point of view of the caring and unappreciated
grandparent. For instance, ―As a member of the grandparent generation, I now believe we
misled our daughters. We told them that because of new attitudes toward women, they
could ‗have it all.‘ We neglected to tell them they could not ‗have it all at once.‘‖ (page 4).
An undercurrent throughout the book is that the parents are depicted as cold-hearted
towards the grandparents‘ desires, neglectful of their children‘s need for basic necessities,
or outright abusive. The author also briefly mentions instances of sexual abuse and physical
abuse of children by their parents. Readers may be initially put-off by the one-sidedness of
the point-of-view. For example, in describing a grandparent support group, Ms. Slorah
writes: ―[G]randparents told how their daughter or in-law would leave their grandbaby with
‗just anybody‘ so she could go out and party.‖ (page 41) Nevertheless, readers will
eventually forgive the author when focusing on the book‘s purpose.
―Grandparents‘ Rights‖ would be a useful book for grandparents who seek visitation rights
with children of cult members. But there are hurdles for grandparents in achieving
visitation rights with grandchildren in or out of cults. For example, in New York, the law,
Domestic Relations Law section 72, currently provides that the courts first examine whether
the grandparents have standing. To establish standing, the grandparent can petition for
visitation when there has been a death of the child‘s parent or ―where circumstances show
that conditions exist which equity would see fit to intervene.‖ If standing is found, then the
second inquiry that the courts must conduct is whether visitation is in ―the best interest of
the child.‖
For grandparents looking for answers, ―Grandparents‘ Rights‖ provides readers with
motivation, at the very least. The author describes how she took her family matters to
court, testified in Congress, lobbied her state legislature, and took her story to the media.
She also provided advice to those seeking it, and it sounds like her phone rang constantly.
With that kind of determination described in this book, any reader would be inspired.
Grandparents’ Rights: What Every Grandparent Needs to Know
Patricia Perkins Slorah
1st Books Library, 2003, ISBN: 1-4107-6628-4 (e-book), ISBN: 1-4107-6627-6
(paperback)
Patricia Perkins Slorah, has written an easy-to- read book for grandparents who are
considering assistance from the legal community to secure visitation with their
grandchildren. The book is aptly titled, Grandparents’ Rights: What Every Grandparent
Needs to Know. For grandparents who are unfamiliar with the court system, Ms. Slorah
provides helpful guidance. Although any book about the current state of the laws would be
outdated at some point in the future as to what certain laws provide, this book provides
timeless personal stories of grandparents who have struggled to gain visitation rights with
their grandchildren.
For readers who are not grandparents, the book is an eye-opener about a growing societal
problem – neglectful parents, abusive parents, or a parent who has lost a spouse and then
turns his or her back on the children‘s grandparents. In several of the vignettes,
grandparents became caregivers for their grandchildren and then sought legal visitation
rights when their relationships with the parents became estranged, or when other problems
surfaced such as divorcing parents, substance abuse, or death of a parent. State by state,
legislatures are enacting laws for grandparents to have legal grounds for visitations with
their grandchildren. At the heart of these laws is recognition on the part of legislatures that
when dysfunction occurs in immediate family units, one solution may be to provide
grandparents with rights to see their grandchildren.
The author tells the personal stories from the point of view of the caring and unappreciated
grandparent. For instance, ―As a member of the grandparent generation, I now believe we
misled our daughters. We told them that because of new attitudes toward women, they
could ‗have it all.‘ We neglected to tell them they could not ‗have it all at once.‘‖ (page 4).
An undercurrent throughout the book is that the parents are depicted as cold-hearted
towards the grandparents‘ desires, neglectful of their children‘s need for basic necessities,
or outright abusive. The author also briefly mentions instances of sexual abuse and physical
abuse of children by their parents. Readers may be initially put-off by the one-sidedness of
the point-of-view. For example, in describing a grandparent support group, Ms. Slorah
writes: ―[G]randparents told how their daughter or in-law would leave their grandbaby with
‗just anybody‘ so she could go out and party.‖ (page 41) Nevertheless, readers will
eventually forgive the author when focusing on the book‘s purpose.
―Grandparents‘ Rights‖ would be a useful book for grandparents who seek visitation rights
with children of cult members. But there are hurdles for grandparents in achieving
visitation rights with grandchildren in or out of cults. For example, in New York, the law,
Domestic Relations Law section 72, currently provides that the courts first examine whether
the grandparents have standing. To establish standing, the grandparent can petition for
visitation when there has been a death of the child‘s parent or ―where circumstances show
that conditions exist which equity would see fit to intervene.‖ If standing is found, then the
second inquiry that the courts must conduct is whether visitation is in ―the best interest of
the child.‖
For grandparents looking for answers, ―Grandparents‘ Rights‖ provides readers with
motivation, at the very least. The author describes how she took her family matters to
court, testified in Congress, lobbied her state legislature, and took her story to the media.
She also provided advice to those seeking it, and it sounds like her phone rang constantly.
With that kind of determination described in this book, any reader would be inspired.
