Review of Deceit
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Alana Walker Tutwiler
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Review of Deceit
[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceit" by Vernon Baumrind.]
What are the consequences when a medical doctor uses his knowledge of a patient to manipulate and seduce her into engaging in an affair with him? Can a spouse wiretap the phones in their home in order to gather evidence of their partner’s infidelity? In the midst of divorce proceedings in the late 1970’s when custody was almost always granted to the mother, can a father win sole custody of his two children?
These questions are all answered in the riveting memoir Deceit by Vernon Baumrind-the true account of a father’s fight to get sole custody of his children in the midst of divorce proceedings and reveal the shocking details of his wife’s affair with her gynecologist. Mr. Baumrind is a successful businessman who married his college sweetheart, Linda, in 1967. The couple had two children, David and Jade, and a beautiful home in Florence, South Carolina-a reflection of Mr. Baumrind’s success in the real estate business. Linda was a stay-at-home mother and the family seemed to have it all. Then in late 1978, Vernon began to notice a change in the couple’s relationship. Linda became distant to the point of asking him to move into a separate bedroom and announcing that she wanted a separation after the Christmas holiday season. Vernon suspected that she was having an affair with her gynecologist, Dr. James Ewing, who also happened to be their neighbor. To add insult to injury, Linda and James’ wife Louise were good friends.
Deceit follows Vernon’s anguished struggle during the breakup of his marriage and his fight to prove his wife’s adultery in order to gain custody of his children during the divorce proceedings. The wiretap that he placed on his home phone led to a lengthy court battle and even became the subject of national news coverage. Unflinchingly honest, the narrative reveals the salacious details of the affair as well as Vernon’s heartbreak and self-doubt as he wonders what he could have done better to keep the love of his life from going astray. The author reveals that this book is decades in the making, partly because the judge sealed the court records after the divorce and also because he wanted to wait until his children were old enough to limit the emotional damage of having the disturbing details of the breakup of their family revealed. Even though the memoir is told strictly from Vernon’s perspective, he still seems to maintain a straightforward account of what happened, revealing unflattering coverage of him in the news as reporters and everyday onlookers questioned why he did not just confront his wife’s lover instead of wiretapping her conversations.
This was an excellent read, as it followed one man’s account of the breakup of his marriage, the heartbreak of betrayal, and the love of a father that led him to do whatever was necessary in order not to lose his children. I rate this book as five out of five stars. It was extremely well edited and I found no errors.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of ‘it happened to me’ stories, or who is looking for stories about people going through bad breakups or divorces due to infidelity and/or who are dealing with child custody battles.
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Deceit
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
What are the consequences when a medical doctor uses his knowledge of a patient to manipulate and seduce her into engaging in an affair with him? Can a spouse wiretap the phones in their home in order to gather evidence of their partner’s infidelity? In the midst of divorce proceedings in the late 1970’s when custody was almost always granted to the mother, can a father win sole custody of his two children?
These questions are all answered in the riveting memoir Deceit by Vernon Baumrind-the true account of a father’s fight to get sole custody of his children in the midst of divorce proceedings and reveal the shocking details of his wife’s affair with her gynecologist. Mr. Baumrind is a successful businessman who married his college sweetheart, Linda, in 1967. The couple had two children, David and Jade, and a beautiful home in Florence, South Carolina-a reflection of Mr. Baumrind’s success in the real estate business. Linda was a stay-at-home mother and the family seemed to have it all. Then in late 1978, Vernon began to notice a change in the couple’s relationship. Linda became distant to the point of asking him to move into a separate bedroom and announcing that she wanted a separation after the Christmas holiday season. Vernon suspected that she was having an affair with her gynecologist, Dr. James Ewing, who also happened to be their neighbor. To add insult to injury, Linda and James’ wife Louise were good friends.
Deceit follows Vernon’s anguished struggle during the breakup of his marriage and his fight to prove his wife’s adultery in order to gain custody of his children during the divorce proceedings. The wiretap that he placed on his home phone led to a lengthy court battle and even became the subject of national news coverage. Unflinchingly honest, the narrative reveals the salacious details of the affair as well as Vernon’s heartbreak and self-doubt as he wonders what he could have done better to keep the love of his life from going astray. The author reveals that this book is decades in the making, partly because the judge sealed the court records after the divorce and also because he wanted to wait until his children were old enough to limit the emotional damage of having the disturbing details of the breakup of their family revealed. Even though the memoir is told strictly from Vernon’s perspective, he still seems to maintain a straightforward account of what happened, revealing unflattering coverage of him in the news as reporters and everyday onlookers questioned why he did not just confront his wife’s lover instead of wiretapping her conversations.
This was an excellent read, as it followed one man’s account of the breakup of his marriage, the heartbreak of betrayal, and the love of a father that led him to do whatever was necessary in order not to lose his children. I rate this book as five out of five stars. It was extremely well edited and I found no errors.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of ‘it happened to me’ stories, or who is looking for stories about people going through bad breakups or divorces due to infidelity and/or who are dealing with child custody battles.
******
Deceit
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Quest: Finding Freddie by Thomas Richard Spradlin
