The Florida mother said the source of her pain is losing her two daughters.
"In less than one year and nine months I've had less than 37 hours of contact," she said.
A victim of domestic violence, Sacks lost her children to what she calls an unfair custody battle.
Dr. Mo Hannah, a professor of psychology at Siena College, said it's often the outcome in many relationships where battering takes place.
"In the course of these battles women run out of money because normally the men have more money, and the women become debilitated by the stress of trying to fight for their children," said Dr. Hannah.
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Hannah said a lack of money and an unfair judicial system can make it difficult for mothers like Sacks to gain proper custody. This is also true for many fathers.
It's a wide spread problem and it's drawn more than 200 people and outside organizations to the Sixth Battered Mother's Custody Conference in Albany. They've come from as far as Spain and South Africa in hopes of finding support.
"They need to talk to other women. They need to talk to legal advocates, they need to talk to domestic violence advocates, and they need to get connected as other people at the conference have gotten connected so they can have support," said Dr. Hannah.
And for parents like Linda Marie Sacks, its this type of network they say will bring them closer to their children.
"There is no quick remedy for moms like me but I will not stop trying to get my daughters back," said Sacks.
Experts say custody battles like these often stem from unbalanced court proceedings. They say the best defense is thorough documentation and getting help from advocates.
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