Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Burton, along with journalist and writer Lynn, presents an unflinching account of Burton's life, told in two parts. First, Burton recounts her early years, revealing a girl's life not interrupted but derailed by sexual abuse and emotional neglect. The damage done was made worse later, when her five-year-old son was struck by a car and killed in Los Angeles. Burton self-medicated to treat her pain, became addicted to drugs, and ended up in prison several times, facing seemingly impossible obstacles each time she was released. In the second half of the book, Burton shares her step-by-step path to not only getting herself back on her feet but also to founding the standout nonprofit organization, A New Way of Life Reentry Project, to help other women burdened with a criminal record. Burton has received a Top 10 CNN Hero award and a James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, and the Los Angeles Times named Burton one of the nation's New Civil Rights Leaders. Burton has helped thousands of formerly incarcerated and homeless individuals, and now, by telling her story, she continues to advocate for a more humane justice system guided by compassion and dignity.--Hawkins, Valerie Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Burton founder and executive director of A New Way of Life, a nonprofit organization that supports formerly incarcerated women, joins coauthor Lynn (Leg the Spread) to write a compelling memoir about her own journey into social justice activism after multiple imprisonments. A survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault during her childhood, Burton turned to cocaine and crack after her five-year-old son was killed in a hit-and-run incident. Once caught up in California's prison system, she spent nearly two decades incarcerated or on parole before she was able to break the cycle by fighting for the drug treatment and trauma therapy she needed. The latter half of the book documents Burton's tireless efforts to effect change--first helping individual women, released from prison with few resources, to make a new start, and then snowballing advocacy efforts at the state and national level to reshape how the United States treats those with criminal records. Too often, national debates about mass incarceration take place in the abstract world of economics or social science data; rarely do individuals who have been or are currently incarcerated have a place at the policy table. This first-person account of the trauma that incarceration inflicts on individuals and families ties those policy discussions to lived reality. It may also help the incarcerated, the formerly incarcerated, and their families know that they are not alone. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In this memoir, Burton explores her life inside and outside of prison, along with the varied experiences that led her down that path. The author reflects on situations that directly affected her personal and professional life, such as being forced to return to unhealthy relationships upon reentering society because of the difficulty in securing a steady job and housing with a criminal record. She also examines these issues in a broader context; for example, how the lack of employment and housing opportunities increases the odds of a person returning to prison. More importantly, she writes about ways to change these societal issues, including her founding of the Los Angeles-based organization A New Way of Life. Prison reform is an important and timely issue, and stories such as these emphasize the personal aspect of this complex issue while offering statistics for a fuller perspective. VERDICT More than just a memoir, this account provides an intimate glimpse into the problems that plague the U.S. prison system. Also recommended for those interested in prison reform and the race, gender, and socioeconomic issues relating to criminal justice.-Sonnet Ireland, St. Tammany Parish P.L., Mandeville, LA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
How one woman finally broke away from a cycle of imprisonment and went on to help hundreds of other women re-enter normal life.In this engrossing memoir, Burton shares the details of her painful childhood and adolescence: she was sexually molested as a young child, which her mother was aware of but turned a blind eye to; raped at 14, which led to a pregnancy and the birth of her daughter; and worked as a prostitute for money and drugs. But it was the death of her 5-year-old son that threw Burton into a spiral of despair, and she wound up in and out of jail numerous times over the course of 15 years. All those years in jail gave Burton time to question why she continued to use drugs, why she wasn't offered any counseling, like the white prisoners received, and why the judicial system was so biased against black women. When the opportunity arose to make a difference after her final incarceration, Burton embarked on a 20-plus-year campaign to provide the kind of support she knew was missing for women recently released from prison. She successfully executed a complete turnaround of her life, which she chronicles in the second half of this powerful memoir. Burton explains how and why women, especially of color, find themselves at the bottom of the barrel, and given few chances for improvement, and how she has fought to change legislation and the overall handling of prisoners in the state of California. The author speaks a hard but necessary truth, one that should be heard so all prisoners are given a fair chance to re-enter society. Through her strong will and determination, Burton has proven that former prisoners can offer real value to the community and should be given the opportunities to do so. A dramatic, honest, moving narrative of how hard life can get and how one can still overcome seemingly insurmountable adversity to do good in the world. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
