Summary

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.

Winner of the 2026 Los Angeles Book Festival Wild Card Category
Runner-up in the 2026 Los Angeles Book Festival General Nonfiction Category
Winner of the 2026 New England Book Festival Wild Card Category
Runner-up in the 2026 New England Book Festival General Nonfiction Category
Winner of the 2026 Southern California Book Festival Wild Card Category
Winner of the 2026 Southern California Book Festival General Nonfiction Category
Runner-up of 2026 New York Book Festival General Nonfiction Category
Runner-up of 2026 New York Book Festival Wild Card Category

Editorial Reviews

“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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Author Bio: Wendy Smith

Wendy Smith, PhD, LCSW, is a Distinguished Continuing Scholar in Child Welfare and former professor and associate dean at the University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. After thirty-five years of practicing psychotherapy and university teaching, Dr. Smith turned her attention to working on change at a broader level through serving on the Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families and providing leadership to non-profit organizations serving vulnerable youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. She chairs the Board of the National Foster Youth Institute, and serves on the Children’s Rights Advisory Board of Human Rights Watch and the Foundation Board of the Venice Family Clinic, among others. Dr. Smith is the author of Youth Leaving Foster Care: A Developmental, Relationship-Based Approach to Practice (2011) and has published on current issues in child welfare and the justice system in The Chronicle of Social Change (now The Imprint), an online newsletter. A recognized expert in child abuse and child development, she has appeared in the Netflix series The Trials of Gabriel, provided expert testimony on early attachment in a probate court guardianship case, and is frequent speaker to both academic and community groups on trauma, child development, and foster care.

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Details

Format:	Retail CD	Format:	MP3 CD
Available Formats :	Retail CD, MP3 CD
Category:	Nonfiction/Social Science
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing	Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
CDs:	8	CDs:	2
Runtime:	9.04
ISBN:	9798228671874	ISBN:	9798228671881
Audience:	Adult
Language:	English

Before Their Crimes: What We're Misunderstanding about Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing

Summary

Summary

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Reviews