Born, Not Raised

Voices from Juvenile Hall

Susan Madden Lankford

In the final volume of her trilogy on interlinked social issues, Susan Madden Lankford explores the troubled psyches of young people incarcerated in Juvenile Hall. The perspectives of psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and experts in the field of juvenile justice— combined with striking contributions elicited from the youths themselves—underscore the social and neurobiological impacts of childhood trauma.

Born, Not Raised aims to have a dramatic impact on social policy with its powerful call to action for educators, social workers, psychologists, criminal justice and corrections professionals, as well as parents and parents-to-be. At the heart of Lankford’s work is the conviction that early education and youth development are the most effective strategies for breaking the cycle of at-risk behavior and helping our country’s youth thrive.

Susan Madden Lankford earned a B.S. in medical technology from the University of Nebraska, did graduate work in photography, and attended workshops with photographic masters such as Ansel Adams, Richard Misrach, and Ruth Bernhard. After years as a successful professional photographer, Lankford became deeply aware of America’s disenfranchised and began focusing her energy and her cameras on their lives and challenges. Maggots in My Sweet Potatoes: Women Doing Time was the first in her trilogy of award-winning books, followed by downTown U.S.A.: A Personal Journey with the Homeless and Born, Not Raised. Lankford also executive-produced the film It’s More Expensive to Do Nothing, a penetrating look at a central crisis in the American criminal justice system, stressing the social and economic value of remediation.