The Not Good Enough Mother

A psychologist who evaluates the fitness of parents for the courts finds herself reassessing her own mothering when her son falls victim to the opiate crisis.

Psychologist and expert witness Sharon Lamb evaluates parents. The conclusions she reaches can mean that some parents will never see their children again. She is well-trained and knows what's in the best interest of the child. But when her son's struggle with opioid addiction comes to light, she starts to doubt her right to make judgments about other mothers.

Lamb introduces readers to the forensic evaluation of parenting, particularly in high stakes cases concerning termination of parental rights. She details for us the tools of her trade, including tests and observation techniques. She describes vividly the plight of individual parents, mothers in particular, struggling to make stable homes for their kids amidst the economic and emotional turmoil of their lives, in the context of the opioid epidemic which has ravaged her home state of Vermont. In her office, during visits with their children, and in family court, we meet the parents waiting anxiously for Lamb's verdict: have they turned their lives around under child welfare's watchful eye? Do they understand their children's needs? In short, are they good enough? What is good enough? Lamb turns that question on herself in the midst of her shocking discovery that her son has an opiate addiction. Amazed at her own denial, feeling powerless to help him, Lamb confronts the heartache she can bring into the lives of others, and her power to tear families apart. As an expert, a professor, and a mother, Dr. Lamb gives voice to the near impossible standards we attach to the concept of motherhood.

Sharon Lamb, EdD, PhD, ABPP, is a Professor of Counseling Psychology at UMass Boston and the Program Director of the Mental Health Counseling program. An experienced clinician, she sees children, adolescents, and adults at her therapy office in Shelburne, Vermont. She has also written, edited, and co-authored 10 books, several of which have won awards. Lamb brings her experience as a forensic evaluator, psychologist, and mother to her memoir about addiction, family, and the law.