Extraordinary Circumstances

At the age of nine, Scott Berne’s childhood teetered on the edge of a precipice. His parents’ nasty divorce and the painful custody battle that followed created an upheaval unlike anything he’d ever known. But when his mother’s precarious mental health led the judge to give sole custody of Scott and his younger brother to his father, the unthinkable happened-Harriet Berne kidnapped her two boys. Extraordinary Circumstances shares the tumultuous true story of what became one of the first test cases of parental abduction in the United States under the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act. With remarkable candor and insight, Scott recalls the terror, fear, and despair he experienced as his mother moved him and his brother through five countries and thirteen residences in an attempt to stay one step ahead of the authorities. The case attracted national and international media attention, culminating in Harriet’s capture in 1981.

For years to come, the ordeal continued for Scott as he dealt with emotional wounds far worse than any physical pain. Yet he refused to succumb to pity, and he became determined to share his story with those suffering a similar fate. With a unique mixture of childhood innocence and adult sensibility, Extraordinary Circumstances explores Scott’s dramatic journey from victim to victor.