Children in Prison

Almost 330,000 children in America are in prison, in a detention center, on probation, or otherwise incarcerated. In a time of nascent prison reform, these children are often left out of the conversation. This book chronicles the experiences of six young people in Ash Meadow, a prison for juveniles in Washington State. Written from the perspective of a prison's rehabilitation counselor, this book provides a firsthand account of these children's lives during and after their stay. These accounts show how domestic violence, inequality, and poor adult-modeling influence the decisions that children make later in life.

"[Gold] offers profound insights into the challenges of taking care of incarcerated youngsters...heartbreaking and eye-opening and utterly worthwhile"--Discover Our Coast., "Gold devotes [this] book concerning his work as a rehabilitation counselor at a juvenile prison in Washington State to the stories of six residents he knew there. ... Chapters eschew cause-and-effect descriptions of crimes and neat conclusions, focusing instead on each incarcerated young person's accounts of his or her experiences through recreated conversations, journals, and emails, and on Gold's experiences working with them. ... Their stories share threads: violence at home and in gangs; anger and suicidality in the absence of hope; and a perceived lack of belief in their futures."--Booklist

Jerome Gold has published fifteen books of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, including two memoirs of his career as a rehabilitation counselor in a prison for children in Washington State. He lives in Everett, Washington.