Violence Memoir

The inspiring story of a Black doctor who was deeply affected by the violence that plagued his Brooklyn childhood and later dedicated himself to addressing trauma and violence as public health issues....

Darrin Bell was six years old when his mother told him he couldn’t have a realistic water gun. She said she feared for his safety, that police tend to think of little Black boys as older and less innocent than they really are. In this immersive audiobook adaptation—with wall-to-wall sound design, an expansive music soundtrack, and full-cast narration including the author and his son—Bell uses his sharp humor to examine how The Talk shaped intimate and public moments from childhood to adulthood.

In Against Football Steve Almond details why, after 40 years as a fan, he can no longer watch the game he still loves. Using a synthesis of memoir, reportage, and cultural critique, Almond asks a series of provocative questions: Does our addiction to football foster a tolerance for violence, greed, racism, and homophobia? What does it mean that our society has transmuted the intuitive physical joys of childhood--run, leap, throw, tackle--into a billion-dollar industry?

Steven shares in full his remarkable story for the first time. After being sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, what Steven witnessed at HMP Frankland, a Category A prison, made him change his life forever. From cell fires and inmates pouring boiling oil over each other, to violent feuds and gang battles on prison wings. After losing everything, he vowed to never use violence again.

Emily was in a restaurant, having lunch with her father – the next thing she remembers is waking up, naked, in a strange hotel room, next to a man she did not know. She suspected she had been drugged and raped. She later found out she had been filmed without her consent. What happened to her that night could have happened to anyone. What came next happens to far too many victims, as failures by the police, CPS and other parts of the system, led to Emily doubting she would ever find justice.

In The Uninnocent, Blake wrestles with the implications of her cousin's break, as well as the broken machinations of America's justice system. As her cousin languished in a cell on death row, where he was assigned for his own protection, Blake struggled to keep her faith in the system she was training to join.

Pure Land is the story of the most brutal murder in the history of the Grand Canyon and how McGivney's quest to investigate the victim's life and death wound up guiding the author through her own life-threatening crisis. On this journey stretching from the southern tip of Japan to the bottom of Grand Canyon, and into the ugliest aspects of human behavior, Pure Land offers proof of the healing power of nature and of the resiliency of the human spirit.

It took me 37,287 words to describe the impact sexual trauma in the military has had on my life. It has taken me over 30 years to come to terms with my experience where I can now write about it and speak about it. I want to educate people about rape in the military. Perhaps I will be able to help others by sharing my experience. To keep silent just perpetuates the violence and reinforces the culture of rape that has been accepted in the military. My insight in this book will be helpful to both practitioners helping veterans and to other veterans suffering from sexual trauma as well.

On April 21, 2008, Steven "Crash" Crashinsky saved more than a thousand people when he stopped his classmate David Burnett from taking their high school hostage armed with assault weapons and high-powered explosives. You likely already know what came after for Crash: the nationwide notoriety, the college recruitment, and, of course, the book deal. What you might not know is what came before: a story of two teens whose lives have been inextricably linked since grade school, who were destined, some say, to meet that day in the teachers' lounge of Meadows High.

John Wesley Hardin! His name spread terror in much of Texas in the years following the Civil War as the most wanted fugitive, with a $4,000 reward on his head. A Texas Ranger wrote that he killed men just to see them kick. Hardin began his killing career in the late 1860s and remained a wanted man until his capture in 1877 by Texas Rangers and Florida law officials. He certainly killed 20 men; some credited him with killing 40 or more.

Lessons of Redemption is the memoir of Kevin Shird, a former drug dealer from Baltimore who now is a leading advocate against violence, drug dealing, and social inequality. The book is an extraordinary account of how one young man turned his life around after years of involvement in serious crime and drug dealing. Shird tells of shootings, murder, drug dealing, and his life behind bars in a federal prison.

A Journey to Forgiveness is about pain, violence, love, and forgiveness. This audiobook was an endeavor of love orchestrated by the untimely murder of her mama, Dr. Vergie Rasheedah Muhammad.

I am a survivor of an 11-year physically and emotionally abusive relationship. I suffered beatings, broken bones, knocked out teeth, public humiliation, and several serious murder attempts. This is unfortunately not a new story in our society today.

Everyone has the right to choose, but no one gets to choose the consequences. Sometimes we are unfairly forced to live with the consequences of another person’s actions when facing abuse and domestic violence. Further complications come when the abuser is someone we love. Fortunately, hope and choices are always present for those who look for them.

During the late 1880's, the Cornett-Whitley gang rose on the Texas scene with a daring train robbery at McNeil Station, only miles from the capital of Texas. In the frenzy that followed the robbery, the media castigated both lawmen and government officials, at times lauded the outlaws, and indulged in trial by media. Fans of the Old West and true crime stories will appreciate this sordid tale of outlawry and the lawmen who put a stop to it. Those who study the media and “fake news” will appreciate the parallels from the 1880's to today.

Thirteen Loops: Race, Violence, and the Last Lynching in America recounts the story of three innocent victims, all of whom suffered violent deaths through no fault of their own: Vaudine Maddox in 1933 in Tuscaloosa, Sergeant Gene Ballard in 1979 in Birmingham, and Michael Donald in 1981 in Mobile. The death of Vaudine Maddox - and the lynchings that followed - serves as a cautionary tale about the violence that occurred in the same region nearly 50 years later.

Violence in a Box invites you to step into Helen's childhood world and experience life with a father who instils fear and terror, everyday, into the lives of his wife and children...As a practicing social worker for 30 years, Helen's story is interwoven with a professional analysis of the historical and cultural context that has enabled domestic violence. Helen offers practical tips and resources for both victims and witnesses.

In this riveting memoir, Lawrence Youngblood chronicles his life's journey in the grim ghetto of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a story about how a dysfunctional home and the mean streets of uptown tainted the life of a child. No one is born into the world with the mental inception that they want to be bad or a gangsta or criminal. As human beings we are born in total innocence, but in this case, a young boy's environment shaped who he was to become. Trapped by both his demons and those of his parents', he's led down a dark path that he wouldn't have otherwise chosen for himself.

Stop the Violence, Kinda is my memoir or struggles from about 2015 to 2020. Most of it is made up, and all names have been changed to protect my friends and family, just in case. The first part of my book you will listen to is really the most recent time in my life, post-coronavirus 2020. Then, it takes you back in time. You'll come right along with me through a bumpy ride of drug addiction, salesmanship, leadership, and the inside of corporate America.

Imagine having everything taken away from you - permanently - with no hope of resuming a normal life. This is the case for many teenagers in America who are tried and convicted as adults for the crime of murder. Here Susan Kuklin takes you behind bars for frank interviews with a collection of young men who will spend the better part of their lives in jail. She lets them speak for themselves, providing the raw details of their incarceration and the anger, despair, and surprising hope they experience every day. Kuklin also provides an in-depth look at the American penal system, highlighting its many intricacies and inequities while focusing on capital cases involving juveniles.