Horsefeathers, Chaos, and Tragedy

Horsefeathers, Chaos, and Tragedy is an
incredible true story about a marriage, divorce, and child
custody struggle that happened over a generation ago. This
saga happened in Canada at a time when divorce laws were
relaxed. One may regard this story, in part, as an exposé
of the then rapidly expanding divorce industry. The levels
of intelligence, competence, and integrity of a few of the
professionals involved in this process at that time are
clearly portrayed. Four children were involved. Two of them
were old enough to decide where they wanted to live. The
custody struggle involved the two younger ones. The problem
centered on the behaviour of the two parents and
specifically on the marked differences between the public
and private conduct of one of them. At various times, four
different psychiatrists, more or less independent of each
other, were sufficiently concerned about the mother's
behaviour that they felt the father should be bringing up
these young children. However, the wife hired a lawyer who
had a reputation for manipulating witnesses and enhancing
affidavits. The resulting struggle, in and out of court,
was almost beyond belief.