Family Law and the Indissolubility of Parenthood

"Parkinson has done a masterful job of identifying international trends in family law over the past four decades. Focusing on the gradual but dramatic shift in the meaning of separation and divorce for its participants, family law, government, and society, Parkinson writes with clarity, objectivity and balance, and the perspective of many years as a legal scholar, researcher, and family law reformer. He demonstrates that the early assumption that divorce dissolved the family with children was neither realistic nor achievable. There was no “clean break” for parents. The central thesis of the book is that parenthood is indissoluble, that parents must transform their parenting relationship after separation but remain inextricably entwined. Reviewing legislation, gender conflict and advocacy, social science research, judicial decisions, and the particularly challenging issues of domestic violence, shared parenting, and relocation, Parkinson describes the fascinating and patchwork course of family law reform that has struggled to reconcile these two “irreconcilable conceptualizations” of divorce, of the tensions between individual autonomy and the enduring responsibility of parents to meet their children’s needs. The book makes a very significant contribution to the fields of family law and social science."

- Joan B. Kelly, Ph.D.

"The book is replete with memorable statements beginning in the Preface with the comment in reference to those not accepting that the world has changed, 'Canutian zeal might be admirable in some respects, but trying to hold back the waves is futile.  It is better to learn to surf them.'  What Professor Parkinson has done in this work is to provide the reader with the surfboard with which to ride the waves.  No serious scholar of Family Law can afford not to read it.  It puts developments of so many jurisdictions into context, as well as pointing the reader to a wealth of research around the Family Law world.  On top of this it is challengingly thought provoking."

Nigel V. Lowe
Head of Cardiff Law School

"This interesting book is truly a solid piece of work at its best. It is indeed very thought-provoking and may benefit many kinds of readers. It is thus highly recommendable for anyone interested in post-divorce parenthood, especially since it is conducted in a comparative perspective."

- Professor Eva Ryrstedt
Faculty of Law, Lund University, Sweden