Everyday desistance: the transition to adulthood among formerly incarcerated youth

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword / Inderbitzin, Michelle -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Road to Juvie -- 3. Locked Up and Back Again -- 4. And Now I'm an Adult -- 5. Dangers and Decisions: Navigating Desistance as a Young Man -- 6. You Can Run but You Can't Hide -- 7. Finding a Net to Fall Back On: The Young Woman's Journeys -- 8. Everyday Desistance: Theory Meets Reality -- 9. Policy and Practice Reforms: Supporting the Pathway to Adulthood -- Acknowledgments -- Appendix: The Research Process -- Bibliography -- Index

"In Everyday Desistance, Laura Abrams and Diane J. Terry examine the lives of young people who spent considerable time in and out of correctional institutions as adolescents. These formerly incarcerated youth often struggle with the onset of adult responsibilities at a much earlier age than their more privileged counterparts. In the context of urban Los Angeles, with a large-scale gang culture and diminished employment prospects, further involvement in crime appears almost inevitable. Yet, as Abrams and Terry point out, these formerly imprisoned youth are often quite resilient and can be successful at creating lives for themselves after months or even years of living in institutions run by the juvenile justice system. This book narrates the day-to-day experiences of these young men and women, focusing on their attempts to surmount the challenges of adulthood, resisting a return to criminal activity, and formulating long-term goals for a secure adult future"--Provided by publisher

In Everyday Desistance, the authors examine the transition to adulthood among twenty-five formerly incarcerated young men and women in Los Angeles, California. They describe their day-to-day experiences, focusing on their attempts to surmount the challenges of adulthood, resist the temptations of criminal activity, and formulate their long-term goals for a secure adult future