Growing up in an impoverished, broken home, unable to make friends, Waln Brown turned to vagrancy, truancy, and juvenile delinquency. In this moving and spellbinding autobiography, Waln Brown recounts his journey through various county and state agencies, psychiatric hospitals, and reformatories. Surprisingly, he was able to make his reformatory experiences work to his advantage. Slowly fighting his way out of delinquency, he returned to school, earned a Ph.D. and moved to a more acceptable life-Style. What is ...
Growing up in an impoverished, broken home, unable to make friends, Waln Brown turned to vagrancy, truancy, and juvenile delinquency. In this moving and spellbinding autobiography, Waln Brown recounts his journey through various county and state agencies, psychiatric hospitals, and reformatories. Surprisingly, he was able to make his reformatory experiences work to his advantage. Slowly fighting his way out of delinquency, he returned to school, earned a Ph.D. and moved to a more acceptable life-Style. What is unique about this book is Brown's recounting of the story from multiple points of view. He recollects with emotion how he was a victim of an unstable home life and rigid school system. But he also presents the contrasting official records - court transcripts, psychiatrists' reports, hospital files - proving Brown to be uncooperative and violent. The juxtaposition of these two views illustrates the delinquent's and reformers' frustrations and inability to communicate. Brown's gripping story of a juvenile delinquent's world will hold you to the end. His analysis paves the way for improved juvenile justice programs.
Brown takes the reader beyond the stark and impersonal intake, psychological and probation reports which we practitioners are presented with during the course of the juvenile justice system's attempts to provide solutions to the particular delinquent's problems. He is to be praised for his introspection. Brown's conclusion is one of hope. The Other Side of Del8inquency provides a shot in the arm for juvenile justice professionals, and one that is delivered from a very unusual vanatge point.
Delores Davidson
Brown's autobiographical account of his own juvenile delinquency is at once riveting and educational. While most books covering the topic of juvenile delinquency concentrate either upon the reformer's efforts or (more commonly) the juvenile's experiences, Brown manages to present both sides of the issue clearly. Sociology and psychology students in particular may find this a valuable, not difficult, aid to classroom studies in delinquency and ccrime.
Edward Scott
Well-written, moving, and inspiring, the book is a case study in the hidden strength that sees some people through great turnoil.
Frank Wood
Books like Brown's are an important contribution to the literature of exceptionality. By sharing his efforts to understand himself during his troubled youth, he encourages us to continue to reach out in an effort to understand those who cannot write their own stories.
Jim Bencivenga
The Other Side of Delinquency is an articulate glimpse at the thought processes of a very inarticulate world. It is the autobiography of a young man who opens a verbal window, from the inside, on his delinquency. It describes the early life and teen-age years of a court-adjudicated youth and his successful struggle to escape from the cycle of violence and institutionalization that seemed his destiny. The simple, youthfully honest, almost always confused narrative about his life is illuminating.
Dr. Waln Brown, Founder & CEO of the William Gladden Foundation, spent his adolescence in an orphanage, juvenile detention facility, state hospital and reformatory. Waln earned his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. He has authored over 230 publications, including The Other Side of Delinquency (Rutgers University Press), The Abandonment of Delinquent Behavior: Promoting the Turnaround (Praeger Publishers), Why Some Children Succeed Despite the Odds (Praeger Publishers) and Growing Up in the Care of Strangers (William Gladden Foundation Press). Waln held positions with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the National Center for Juvenile Justice and the Orthogenic School at the University of Chicago.
Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.
Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13
We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.
What to exclude from your review:
Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.
Reviews should not contain any of the following:
- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation
Reminder:
- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend
Create a Pen Name
Welcome, penname
You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Overview