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All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated
by Nell Bernstein
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9781565849525 |
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
An intimate and heartwrenching investigation into the lives of children of imprisoned parents, by an award-winning journalist.
I think they shouldn't have took my mama to jail....Give her the opportunity to make up for what she did. Using drugs, she's hurting herself. You take her away from me, now you're hurting me.--Terrence, a fifteen-year-old boy left to fend for himself after his mother was imprisoned for nonviolent drug possession
One in ten American children has a parent under criminal justice supervision--incarcerated, on probation, or on parole. One in thirty-three American children--and one in eight African American children--goes to sleep without access to a parent because that parent is in jail. Despite these staggering numbers, the children of prisoners remain largely invisible to society.
Following in the tradition of the bestseller Random Family, journalist Nell Bernstein shows, through the deeply moving stories of real families, how the children of the incarcerated are routinely punished for their parents' status: ignored, neglected, stigmatized, and endangered, with minimal effort made to help them cope.
Topics range from children's experiences at the time of their parent's arrest, to laws and policies that force even low-level offenders to forfeit their parental rights, to alternative sanctions that take into account prisoners' status as mothers and fathers.
All Alone in the World defines a crucial aspect of criminal justice and, in doing so, illuminates a critical new realm of human rights.
Review:
"Children of prisoners: who even thinks about them? Journalist Bernstein puts a face on this population with staggering statistics (2.4 million children have a parent in jail, and as many as half of all boys whose parents do time will wind up behind bars themselves) and personal stories of children like Susana, who has embraced her father only once in her life, and Carl, who told the jailhouse Santa that all he wanted for Christmas was for his mother to come home. Parents and children speak about the trauma of prison visits, the expensive phone calls that cut off without warning and the questions from children (What do you tell your friends? Are you to blame?) and parents (Would your child be better off without you?). Bernstein takes on the system as well: because of mandatory sentencing, judges must impose life imprisonment without parole, regardless of circumstances; a convicted felon, once released, has no access to student or small-business loans, public assistance or housing; a grandmother fears applying for aid because she must give up her grandchildren to the foster care system for evaluation and may never get them back. Well researched and smoothly written, Bernstein's book pumps up awareness of the problems, provides a checklist for what needs to be done and also cites organizations like the Osborne Society that provide parenting and literacy classes, counseling and support. The message is clear : taking family connections into account 'holds particular promise for restoring a social fabric rent by both crime and punishment.'" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Synopsis:
One in ten American children has a parent under criminal justice supervision--incarcerated, on probation, or on parole. One in thirty-three American children-and one in eight African American children goes to sleep without access to a parent because that parent is in jail. Despite these staggering numbers, the children of prisoners remain largely invisible to society. Following in the tradition of the bestseller Random Family, journalist Nell Bernstein shows, through the deeply moving stories of real families, how the children of the incarcerated are routinely punished for their parents' status: ignored, neglected, stigmatized, and endangered, with minimal effort made to help them cope. Topic range from children's experiences at the time of their parent's arrest, to laws and policies that force even low-level offenders to forfeit their parental rights, to alternative sanctions that take into account prisoners' status as mothers and fathers. All Alone in the World defines a crucial aspect of criminal justice and, in doing, so, illuminates a critical new realm of human rights.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
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dcarbonephd, June 23, 2006 (view all comments by dcarbonephd)
I just learned that this book existed, yesterday (June 22, 2006). Growing-up in Jersey City, NJ, as a child of a three-time incarcerated parent, has sensitized me to the plight of innocent children, as well as that of both youth and adult offenders. In addition to my full-time job, I work with both youth and adult offenders, as well as at-risk youth. Through my part-time and volunteer work, I now teach or mentor kids in every grade level from first grade all the way through first-year college students. I wrote a proposal dated 9/9/05 on three-phased rehabilitation for offenders that must be part of each offender's sentence, because otherwise, no one will take rehabilitation seriously enough to make it effective. This June 30th will mark 40 years since my mother took me, her then nine-year old son, along with my then 11-year old sister and 16-year old half-brother, and left a bad home situation. My mother past away in 1984. My father died in 1988 and was incarcerated three times totalling sixteen years that spanned 20 year period from the late sixties to the late eighties. Since January 2000, for one of my part-time jobs, I've taught college courses to state inmates. I'm now teaching my 40th college course for the same college that my father graduated from while in prison back in 1975. I look forward to acquiring and reading this book.
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amanda, May 5, 2006 (view all comments by amanda)
I dare you to read this book and not be inspired to help this overlooked population. This book is so well written, researched, and chock-full of incredible and heart wrenching true stories, that it is hard to put down. A mind boggling subject with extraordinarily far-reaching social implications is explored thoroughly and compassionately; then in the last chapter, there are actually strong ideas and suggestions on how to implement changes in a system that has so many children bound to a life without parents, so many family caregivers bound to poverty and government intervention in their lives, and so many parents losing the one relationship in their lives that could actually create some motivation and cohesion for their future. I recommend this book to EVERYONE - In my opinion, it should be required reading.
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Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9781565849525
- Subtitle:
- Children of the Incarcerated
- Author:
- Publisher:
- New Press
- Subject:
- General
- Subject:
- Dysfunctional Families
- Subject:
- Social Work
- Subject:
- Children of prisoners
- Subject:
- Prisoners
- Subject:
- Government - U.S. Government
- Subject:
- Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare
- Subject:
- Children's Studies
- Subject:
- Sociology - Marriage & Family
- Subject:
- Penology
- Publication Date:
- October 2005
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 303
- Dimensions:
- 8.48x5.82x1.15 in. 1.13 lbs.
