Susan Madden Lankford

Short version: Not worth reading.

Longer version:

Due to the sensitive nature of the topics approached within Lankford's work, an honest review is both difficult and necessary. It would be easy to cave in to societal pressures and state that the book was an enlightening glimpse into another world etc., but the actuality of the matter is simply that I find the methods of the authors abhorrent and the psychology within the text justifying those methods vile. One reason above all stands out for such harsh words: The key people in the text - namely, the children being interviewed - have their stories, voices, dreams, and potentially their psyche's well-being altered, ignored, or dismissed outright by the juxtaposition of irrelevant images or leading questions.

Throughout the interviews and the questionnaires, the children (and that term is debatable with several of the older ones) are drawn into certain thought patterns by the phrasing of the interviewer or test. Page 110 contains a sample of a series of questions demonstrating such technique to elicit pathos. To summarize, the first question directly inquires about Bass' (the 15 year old boy answering) family. "Do you have any family members that have been, or are in jail or prison?" The implication is clearly an expectation of a yes. And while this may seem a reasonable question for a person in juvenile hall (perhaps in misguided effort to understand family influences), what crosses the reasonable line is the ordering of the following questions. Directly after bringing together the ideas of family and jail/prison in the young person's mind, the next question asks what the most memorable event in the past is for the interviewee. As if that were not enough, the third question in the snippet does not even bother with subtlety regarding its kangaroo nature, putting words into Bass' mouth by starting with the statement, "I am a young person scared about the future."

Questions and interviews of this sort could, easily, be seen as a form of emotional abuse or brainwashing. Rather than continue this review and possibly generate sales for Lankford, I'm simply going to end it at that. The only potential value such a work has is as a sadistic example of how to manipulate emotional and high-pressure scenarios.… (más)

This should be required reading for anyone who works with kids. I would highly recommend for teachers, social workers, and churches. The photos, stories, and drawings, included are bound to touch you heart and make you feel for these children. The author does a wonderful job of getting in touch with these kids and making a connection with them. This is not a fun read that anyone would pick up for enjoyment. BUT, it is very educational and offers a ton of insight and suggestions. All of the children touched upon here are crying out for love, attention, and role models. The author is suggesting that it doesn't take much for you to have an impact on a child, both negative and positive. One missed opportunity can change a child's life into negative, but one little bit of time spent with that child can leave a lasting postive impact. Bravo Ms. Lankford, keep up the good work! Thanks so much for caring, and for all the work you do and have done!… (más)

This book isn't something that is going to make you feel light hearted and breezy like a feather, it's a gritty, important book. Some people didn't like the size of it - but I found the size gave the information the space it needed -- your eyes needed places to rest while grappling with tough content. I think this book (and the larger series) should be in high schools around the country. This wasn't an easy book by any means, but it made me think, it made me look at kids and families differently and it challenged my assumptions -- which are all important life activities.… (más)

My first (and biggest) complaint about this book is its size - about the size of a newspaper tabloid - which makes it difficult to read. Maybe because the author relied on photography & reproduced writing samples as part of their narrative process she felt this would enhance the book's appeal. It does not.

And that is a shame because Susan Madden Lankford has an important (and heartbreaking) story to tell. Born, Not Raised speaks to a whole class of children that the larger society mostly ignores or vilifies. They come from dysfunctional homes, attend sub-standard schools (when they go at all) and are easily attracted into the life of street gangs.

Ms. Lankford and her daughter, Polly, spent two years interviewing and working with the young inmates of Juvenile Hall in San Diego. In these kids' own words the reader gets a vivid description of the lives of anger, fear and despair that most of these young inmates live.

The message to anyone reading this book should be clear. We cannot afford to throw away an entire generation of children to the criminal justice system. I don't know the answers, and quite frankly, I don't think the author does either. But at least she realizes that we have a horrible problem.… (más)