'Poppa Too'

Author Shares Painful True Story of His Fight for His Daughter

After five court appearances, Michael Anthony was allowed to enjoy joint custody of his only child, Amanda. For the next four years he became the part time parent, able to see her on the days awarded by the judge. In that time he built a wonderful, positive relationship with his daughter. His girlfriend - her mother - continued to ignore the judgments. He returned to Louisiana from a job in Florida only to discover that she had packed up, moved away, and taken Amanda with her.

In his new book, "Poppa Too" (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com), Anthony reveals the heartbreaking true story of his daughter's abduction by her mother, an act that is unlawful yet has left him legally unable to do anything.

"Obeying all the orders given by the court was to no avail," Anthony writes.
Much of the documented evidence wasn't reviewed and seemed to be a waste of time. Orders from five court appearances meant nothing. Having to survive and endure this sort of helplessness is a very difficult thing to do. It wasn't until after Amanda was taken that I was able to gather evidence and do the research that exposed my dire situation.
When local authorities refused to help him recover his daughter, Anthony conducted his own investigation. Even after he had proof of where his child was, detectives did not assist. For Anthony, this opened his eyes to a world of harsh realities for men battling the court system for their children:
Some aren't aware of the oppression one must endure when drawn into a vicious child custody battle where domestic decisions are made by one person, a judge. In a malicious litigation, the amount of men who must spend large sums of money, have their reputations slandered, are assumed guilty and receive harsher punishments far outnumber the women. There are no battered men's shelters, no financial assistance of any kind and no government funded agencies to assist him. In most cases, it's the child who will lose his or her right to establish a healthy relationship with one or both of their parents. Kids have feelings too and don't deserve this kind of maltreatment.
"People should know that this deprivation can happen to anybody," writes Anthony. "When there's no justification, losing your child to a vengeful spouse or the faulty decisions of a family court is inhumanity at its best."

"This story is not about what can happen," he states, "it's about what will happen to you when you do not recognize the signs and take the necessary precautions to avoid losing your child. Hopefully my work will help to prevent a tragedy like this from happening to anyone."