War on the Family: Mothers in Prison and the Families They Leave Behind

"In her book War on the Family Mothers in Prison and the Families They Leave Behind, Renny Golden brings to life the pains of imprisonment that incarcerated mothers and their children experience...By sharing the stories of incarcerated mothers and their children in two geographical regions, Golden offers an insightful picture of this typically forgotten group...the author examines the long-term impact of incarceration on the children of incarcerated parents, which few studies have done." -- Jennifer Cobbina, Criminal Justice Review, March 2008

In this timely book, renowned criminologist and activist Renny Golden sheds light on the women behind bars and the 350,000 children they leave behind. In exposing the fastest growing prison population-a direct result of Reagan's War on Drugs-Golden sets up new framework for thinking about how to address the situation of mothers in prison, the risks and needs of their children and the implications of current judicial policies.