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Before Their Crimes

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What to expect

Juvenile crime doesn’t just happen—there is always a story behind it.

Before Their Crimes: What We’re Misunderstanding about Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing is a ground-breaking audiobook that sheds new light on the relationship of childhood trauma and juvenile crime. Wendy Smith uses the framework of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to explain how the toxic stress of early childhood trauma can make children vulnerable to committing criminal acts. Smith draws from interviews with twenty men and women from across the racial and social divide who spent years in prison after committing serious crimes as children. Smith not only reveals the pernicious mechanisms that link early trauma to later crime, but also illuminates the potential for healing among even the most egregious offenders.

Critics Review

“Through compelling real-life cases, Before Their Crimes illustrates that the human capacity to heal and transform can survive against all odds. Dr. Wendy Smith’s passion for her work is obvious throughout as she urges and practices compassion for even the most serious offenders.”

Anthony Romero, Executive Director, ACLU

“The key to improving public safety is understanding what led to criminal behavior in the first place and addressing the issues during incarceration. Before Their Crimes makes a notable contribution toward the understanding and insight needed to bring about constructive change.”

Karen Bass, mayor of Los Angeles and former member of congress

“Wendy Smith has written a powerful and deeply moving book. It is that rare combination of emotion, factual insights, and inspiration. Read it and savor it and encourage others to read it.”

Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films

“With profound insight into science and theory, Dr. Wendy Smith invites us to discover compassion in the roots of human experience, revealing that chance shapes our destinies as powerfully as choice—a truth made starkly visible in the lives of those impacted by incarceration.”

Dorian Traube, PhD, LCSW, Neidorff Family and Centene Corporation Dean and professor, Brown School, Washington University, St. Louis

“Before Their Crimes uncovers an epidemic of childhood trauma, the redemptive qualities of everyone, and the true path towards healing.”

Xavier McElrath-Bey, MA, Executive Director, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth

“Through interviews with multiple juvenile offenders who had been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, including life sentences, Dr. Wendy Smith has written a primer on the impact of trauma, including physical and sexual abuse, substance abuse, loss of loved ones, and abandonment…Dr. Smith illustrates how healing can occur and ultimately lead to a rebirth of hope for a meaningful life.”

Michael Nash, Executive Director, Los Angeles County Office of Child Protection; former Presiding Judge, Los Angeles County Juvenile Court

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