Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison

One in three American children will be arrested by the time they are twenty-three, and many will spend time locked inside horrific detention centers that defy everything we know about what motivates young people to change. Nell Bernstein eloquently argues that there is no right way to lock up a child. The very act of isolation denies children the thing that is most essential to their growth and rehabilitation: positive relationships with caring adults. Bernstein introduces us to youth across the nation who have suffered violence and psychological torture at the hands of the state. She presents these youths all as fully realized people, not victims. As they describe in their own voices their fight to maintain their humanity and protect their individuality in environments that would deny both, these young people offer a hopeful alternative to the doomed effort to reform a system that should only be dismantled. Interwoven with these heartrending stories is reporting on innovative programs that provide effective alternatives to putting children behind bars. A landmark book, Burning Down the House sparked a national conversation about our inhumane and ineffectual juvenile prisons, and ultimately makes the radical argument that the only path to justice is for state-run detention centers to be abolished completely.

About the Author :
Nell Bernstein is a former Soros Justice Media Fellow, a winner of a White House Champion of Change award, and the author of All Alone in the World. Her articles have appeared in Newsday, Salon, Mother Jones, and the Washington Post, among other publications. She lives outside Berkeley, California. Joana Garcia is a retired military officer with twenty years of active duty under her belt. She spent most of her adult life fixing fighter jets on aircraft carriers as a US Navy aviation maintenance officer. Her love of the sea is only seconded by her love of telling stories. Her warm, rich, and graceful voice can be heard in over sixty titles in multiple genres, fiction and nonfiction. Joana began narrating audiobooks after retiring from the military, becoming a stay at home mom and listening to audiobooks. After countless coaching sessions, audio engineering tutorials, and setting up a professional studio, she is fulfilling her lifelong dream of being a professional actor. Joana volunteers to mentor veterans through Veterati.com and is an active member of the Audio Publishers Association.