When a woman leaves prison, she enters a world of competing messages and conflicting advice. Staff from prison, friends, family members, workers at halfway houses and treatment programs all have something to say about who she is, who she should be, and what she should do. The Ex-Prisoner’s Dilemma offers an in-depth, firsthand look at how the former prisoner manages messages about returning to the community. Over the course of a year, Andrea Leverentz conducted repeated interviews with forty-nine women as they adjusted to life outside of prison and worked to construct new ideas of themselves as former prisoners and as mothers, daughters, sisters, romantic partners, friends, students, and workers. Listening to these women, along with their family members, friends, and co-workers, Leverentz pieces together the narratives they have created to explain their past records and guide their future behavior. She traces where these narratives came from and how they were shaped by factors such as gender, race, maternal status, age, and experiences in prison, halfway houses, and twelve-step programs—factors that in turn shaped the women’s expectations for themselves, and others’ expectations of them. The women’s stories form a powerful picture of the complex, complicated human experience behind dry statistics and policy statements regarding prisoner reentry into society for women, how the experience is different for men and the influence society plays. With its unique view of how society’s mixed messages play out in ex-prisoners’ lived realities, The Ex-Prisoner’s Dilemma shows the complexity of these women’s experiences within the broad context of the war on drugs and mass incarceration in America. It offers invaluable lessons for helping such women successfully rejoin society.

A famed political scientist's classic argument for a more cooperative world We assume that, in a world ruled by natural selection, selfishness pays. So why cooperate? In The Evolution of Cooperation, political scientist Robert Axelrod seeks to answer this question. In 1980, he organized the famed Computer Prisoners Dilemma Tournament, which sought to find the optimal strategy for survival in a particular game. Over and over, the simplest strategy, a cooperative program called Tit for Tat, shut out the competition. In other words, cooperation, not unfettered competition, turns out to be our best chance for survival. A vital book for leaders and decision makers, The Evolution of Cooperation reveals how cooperative principles help us think better about everything from military strategy, to political elections, to family dynamics.

The magnificent second novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Overstory and the forthcoming Bewilderment. “Accomplished . . . mature and assured. . . . A major American novelist.”— New Republic Something is wrong with Eddie Hobson, Sr., father of four, sometime history teacher, quiz master, black humorist, and virtuoso invalid. His recurring fainting spells have worsened, and given his ingrained aversion to doctors, his worried family tries to discover the nature of his sickness. Meanwhile, in private, Eddie puts the finishing touches on a secret project he calls Hobbstown, a place that he promises will save him, the world, and everything that’s in it. A dazzling novel of compassion and imagination, Prisoner’s Dilemma is a story of the power of individual experience.

Understanding reentry experiences after incarceration Prison in the United States often has a revolving door, with droves of formerly incarcerated people ultimately finding themselves behind bars again. In Beyond Recidivism, Andrea Leverentz, Elsa Y. Chen, and Johnna Christian bring together a leading group of interdisciplinary scholars to examine this phenomenon using several approaches to research on recently released prisoners returning to their lives. They focus on the social context of reentry and look at the stories returning prisoners tell, including such key issues as when they choose to reveal (or not) their criminal histories. Drawing on contemporary studies, contributors examine the best ideas that have emerged over the last decade to understanding the challenges prisoners face upon reentering society. Together, they present a complete picture of prisoner reentry, including real-world recommendations for policies to ensure the well-being of returning prisoners, regardless of their past mistakes.

In the past 30 years, the population of prisoners in the United States has expanded almost 5-fold, correctional facilities are increasingly overcrowded, and more of the country's disadvantaged populations—racial minorities, women, people with mental illness, and people with communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis—are under correctional supervision. Because prisoners face restrictions on liberty and autonomy, have limited privacy, and often receive inadequate health care, they require specific protections when involved in research, particularly in today's correctional settings. Given these issues, the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Human Research Protections commissioned the Institute of Medicine to review the ethical considerations regarding research involving prisoners. The resulting analysis contained in this book, Ethical Considerations for Research Involving Prisoners, emphasizes five broad actions to provide prisoners involved in research with critically important protections: • expand the definition of "prisoner"; • ensure universally and consistently applied standards of protection; • shift from a category-based to a risk-benefit approach to research review; • update the ethical framework to include collaborative responsibility; and • enhance systematic oversight of research involving prisoners.

Employment for former prisoners is a critical pathway toward reintegration into society and is central to the processes of desistance from crime. Nevertheless, the economic climate in Western countries has aggravated the ability of former prisoners and people with criminal records to find gainful employment. After Prison opens with a former prisoner’s story of reintegration employment experiences. Next, relying on a combination of research interviews, quantitative data, and literature, contributors present an international comparative review of Canada’s evolving criminal record legislation; the promotive features of employment; the complex constraints and stigma former prisoners encounter as they seek employment; and the individual and societal benefits of assisting former prisoners attain “gainful” employment. A main theme throughout is the interrelationship between employment and other central conditions necessary for safety and sustenance. This book offers suggestions for criminal record policy amendments and new reintegration practices that would assist individuals in the search for employment. Using the evidence and research findings of practitioners and scholars in social work, criminology and law, psychology, and other related fields, the contributors concentrate on strategies that will reduce the stigma of having been in prison; foster supportive relationships between social and legal agencies and prisons and parole systems; and encourage individually tailored resources and training following release of individuals.

Getting Wrecked provides a rich ethnographic account of women battling addiction as they cycle through jail, prison, and community treatment programs in Massachusetts. As incarceration has become a predominant American social policy for managing the problem of drug use, including the opioid epidemic, this book examines how prisons and jails have attempted concurrent programs of punishment and treatment to deal with inmates struggling with a diagnosis of substance use disorder. An addiction physician and medical anthropologist, Kimberly Sue powerfully illustrates the impacts of incarceration on women’s lives as they seek well-being and better health while confronting lives marked by structural violence, gender inequity, and ongoing trauma.

"In the Oxford Handbook of Developmental Psychology and the Law, eminent scholars from varied disciplines detail how developmental science and the law shape one another across the lifespan. The chapters address fundamental questions about how human development influences laws and practices in the legal system and how the law and its practices influence development. The chapters, as well, reveal how the potential for, and consequences of, victimization and perpetration-whether they be criminal or civil acts-are impacted by and impact development. The diversity of topics, range of influences across the lifespan, and complexities of developmental and legal influences are on display throughout the volume. In Section I, which spanned Infancy and Childhood to Adolescence, authors covered such topics as prenatal and infant abuse; the development of antisocial behavior in children and adolescents; questioning of minor victims, witnesses, and suspects; treatment of youth in juvenile, criminal, and specialty courts but also in immigration, custody, and adoption hearings, and finally in schools and prisons. In Section II, which spanned Adulthood to Aging, authors addressed some of the same topics, but here from the perspective of younger and older adults. These include antisocial behavior in adults, the experiences of elder adults as victim/witnesses, and experiences in prison, especially among parents and the elderly. Other topics were covered as well, including persons with developmental disabilities involvement in the courts, reentry transitions after incarceration, and reproductive and end-of-life legal rights. Across this comprehensive volume, authors demonstrate the immense value of research for policy and practice and viewing legal involvement through the lens of lifespan development"--

This important volume takes a life course approach in sharing empirical insights on the family experiences of African American males in socioeconomic and political contexts. Representing fields ranging from developmental psychology to public health and sociology to education, chapters identify challenges facing black men and boys in the U.S., as well as family and community sources of support and resilience. Survey findings and exemplar case studies illustrate stressors and risk factors uniquely affecting African American communities, and tailored prevention and intervention strategies are described at the personal, family, and societal levels. These interdisciplinary perspectives not only encourage additional research, but inspire the continued development of appropriate interventions, relevant practice, and equitable policy. Included in the coverage: • The adjustment and development of African American males: Conceptual frameworks and emerging research opportunities. • A trauma-informed approach to affirming the humanity of African American boys and supporting healthy transitions to manhood. • Humanizing developmental science to promote positive development of young men of color. • Families, prisoner reentry, and reintegration. • Safe spaces for vulnerability: New perspectives on African Americans who struggle to be good fathers. • They can’t breathe: Why neighborhoods matter for the health of African American men and boys. Promoting diversity in the research agenda to reflect a diverse population, Boys and Men in African American Families is an invaluable reference for research professionals particularly interested in sociology, public policy, anthropology, urban and rural studies, and African American studies. Survey and ethnographic studies of poverty, inequality, family processes, and child, adolescent, and adult health and development are featured.