Forsaking All Others: The Real Betty Broderick Story - Hardcover

Betty Broderick gained national notoriety in 1986 when she fatally shot her ex-husband and his young wife. To some, her action made the spurned wife a folk heroine: she had financially supported her husband through school, raised their children and helped him to achieve wealth and distinction as a San Diego, Calif., attorney, only to be cast aside when she lost her youthful good looks. Dan Broderick gained custody of the children and flouted community property laws, suggests the author, without interference from the local legal community. When her defense attorneys argued that ex-husband Dan had harassed Broderick psychologically, the jury was hung. A retrial resulted in conviction on charges of second-degree murder and in a maximum sentence, 32 years to life imprisonment. Schwartz-Nobel (coauthor, with Mary Beth Whitehead, of A Mother's Story ) offers less of a true-crime study than, in her words, "a voyage into the soul of a woman." Her sympathetic portrayal presents Broderick as a victim of her upbringing in a society that had taught her to entrust her future to marriage with Prince Charming. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Elizabeth Broderick followed all the rules. She married young, then supported her husband while he got his medical degree and his law degree. She raised their four children and became a Super Mom, living the American Dream. Then, when her husband, Dan, turned 40, he decided he no longer needed her. He began a subtle psychological warfare against his wife of 20 years, convincing her that she was old, fat, and dumb. She believed him. What she couldn't believe was that he was going to give up their life together and marry a 20-year-old. Dan Broderick used his power as an attorney and doctor to strip Elizabeth of her future, her home, and eventually her children. She used the only power she had left: On November 5, 1989, she walked into Dan's bedroom and killed him and his new wife. Schwartz-Nobel ( The Baby-Swap Conspiracy , LJ 2/1/93) presents an in-depth look at the Broderick case, including exclusive interviews with Elizabeth from her prison cell. She examines the issues of psychological abuse and justice before the law. Recommended for general collections.
- Belinda Pugh, Kings Bay Base Lib., Ga.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.