Description
A Very Civil Matter: Professional Abuse by Elaine Duffus
You will read about:
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How professional abuse can start quietly and build up over time
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How it feels when people in power do not listen or help
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The stress, sadness, and worry that follow
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The strength it takes to keep going and keep speaking out
The book is written in clear, simple language so that many people can understand it, even if they do not know legal or technical words.
Who this book is for
This book is for anyone going through a difficult separation, family memebers who want to supoport and understanding their family members during this period, those involved in the family court and profesionsls looking to assess and change how they assit and support their clients:
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Have been treated unfairly or badly by professionals
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Want to understand what professional abuse can look like
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Work in legal, care, health, or support roles and want to learn,
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Support someone who has been through similar experiences
It can also help students, charities, and support groups who want add to their knowledge, to discuss and learn from.
What readers can gain
After reading A Very Civil Matter – Professional Abuse, readers may:
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Feel less alone in their own experiences
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Find words for things that have been hard to explain
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Better understand the emotional and mental impact of professional abuse
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Feel inspired to ask questions, seek support, or push for fairer treatment
This book is more than a story – it is a message that what happened matters, and that every person deserves to be treated with respect.
Admin –
A book that should be read if you work in the family law system
I have worked for over 30 years in the family law system as a lawyer. I read this book a couple of years ago and I have been meaning to review it for a while but have struggled a little to be able to adequately describe it probably because I am used to simplifying and categorising and that isn’t entirely possible here. During that time it has stayed in my mind like a tune at the back of my thoughts, not many books do this so there is something special here.
Elaine has written a deeply personal book about her journey through the family law system. Her language is idiosyncratic and poetic. The book is beautifully presented with a tiny violin as a bookmark (read the initial pages to find out why).
The lawyer in me tried to piece together what had happened in various hearings and at some stage I let this go – this is a book to experience as much as read. This is how it feels to be in long-running hostile court proceedings and the struggle to achieve peace and positivity. Elaine describes her gradual piecing together of the true situation she was in, how the person she had once believed and relied on was now making her life so difficult and the effect on her as a social worker herself of going through proceedings in which there should have been professional help but it was not there.
This is a book that all involved in family law should read whether you are going through proceedings or have a role within them.”
Joanna T (Amazon review)
Admin –
Take back control of your life!
How to take back control! Gain confidence and spotting a perpetrator and narcissist. This book is amazing and such a great insight to civil matters with children. A must read!
Shurls (Amazon review)
Admin –
Moving and important
Interesting and informative on the theme of domestic abuse and it’s horrendous legacy for survivors. Particularly relevant for people working in services which support or come in to contact with victim / survivors but also accessible for anyone looking for an introduction. ‘A Very Civil Matter’ also has a deeply personal perspective at it’s heart that is moving and important. Congratulations to this author.
Miss F May (Amazon review)