Homeward

In the era of mass incarceration, over 600,000 people are released from federal or state prison each year, with many returning to chaotic living environments rife with violence. In these circumstances, how do former prisoners navigate reentering society? In Homeward, sociologist Bruce Western examines the tumultuous first year after release from prison. Drawing from in-depth interviews with over one hundred individuals, he describes the lives of the formerly incarcerated and demonstrates how poverty, racial inequality, and failures of social support trap many in a cycle of vulnerability despite their efforts to rejoin society. Western and his research team conducted comprehensive interviews with men and women released from the Massachusetts state prison system who returned to neighborhoods around Boston. Western finds that for most, leaving prison is associated with acute material hardship. In the first year after prison, most respondents could not afford their own housing and relied on family support and government programs, with half living in deep poverty. Many struggled with chronic pain, mental illnesses, or addiction—the most important predictor of recidivism. Most respondents were also unemployed. Some older white men found union jobs in the construction industry through their social networks, but many others, particularly those who were black or Latino, were unable to obtain full-time work due to few social connections to good jobs, discrimination, and lack of credentials. Violence was common in their lives, and often preceded their incarceration. In contrast to the stereotype of tough criminals preying upon helpless citizens, Western shows that many former prisoners were themselves subject to lifetimes of violence and abuse and encountered more violence after leaving prison, blurring the line between victims and perpetrators. Western concludes that boosting the social integration of former prisoners is key to both ameliorating deep disadvantage and strengthening public safety. He advocates policies that increase assistance to those in their first year after prison, including guaranteed housing and health care, drug treatment, and transitional employment. By foregrounding the stories of people struggling against the odds to exit the criminal justice system, Homeward shows how overhauling the process of prisoner reentry and rethinking the foundations of justice policy could address the harms of mass incarceration.

An investigation into the societal impact of intelligent, high-achieving women who are honing traditional homemaking skills traces emerging trends in sophisticated crafting, cooking and farming that are reshaping the roles of women.

In the 1950s, the term "containment" referred to the foreign policy-driven containment of Communism and atomic proliferation. Yet in Homeward Bound May demonstrates that there was also a domestic version of containment where the "sphere of influence" was the home. Within its walls, potentially dangerous social forces might be tamed, securing the fulfilling life to which postwar women and men aspired. Homeward Bound tells the story of domestic containment - how it emerged, how it affected the lives of those who tried to conform to it, and how it unraveled in the wake of the Vietnam era's assault on Cold War culture, when unwed mothers, feminists, and "secular humanists" became the new "enemy." This revised and updated edition includes the latest information on race, the culture wars, and current cultural and political controversies of the post-Cold War era.

The country is changing, and her own world is being turned upside down. Nothing—and no one—will ever be the same. Georgia, 1962. Rose Perkins Bourdon returns home to Parsons, GA, without her husband and pregnant with another man’s baby. After tragedy strikes her husband in the war overseas, a numb Rose is left with pieces of who she used to be and is forced to figure out what she is going to do with the rest of her life. Her sister introduces her to members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee—young people are taking risks and fighting battles Rose has only seen on television. Feeling emotions for the first time in what feels like forever, the excited and frightened Rose finds herself becoming increasingly involved in the resistance efforts. And of course, there is also the young man, Isaac Weinberg, whose passion for activism stirs something in her she didn’t think she would ever feel again. Homeward follows Rose’s path toward self-discovery and growth as she becomes involved in the Civil Rights Movement, finally becoming the woman she has always dreamed of being.

Elaine Tyler May’s 1988 Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era is a ground-breaking piece of historical and cultural analysis that uses its findings to build a strong argument for its author’s view of the course of modern US history. The aim of May’s study is to trace the links between Cold War politics and the domestic lives of everyday American families at the time. Historians have long noted the unique domestic trends of 1950s America, with its increased focus on the nuclear family, neatly divided traditional gender roles and aspirational, suburban consumer lifestyles. May’s contribution was to analyse the interplay between the domestic scene and the political ideologies of American government, and then to build a carefully-constructed argument that draws attention to the ways in which these seemingly disparate forces are in fact related. May’s key achievement was to use her analytical skills to understand the relationships between these different factors. She the traced ways in which domestic life and US foreign policy mirrored one another, showing that the structures and processes they aimed for, while different in scale, were essentially the same. She then carefully brought together different types of historical data, organizing her study to produce a carefully reasoned argument that the American suburban home was in certain direct ways the product of the ‘containment’ policies that ruled American foreign policy at the time.

Homeward Journey depicts a young writer's life through the art of his poetry. My brother, Leslie, was confronted with many obstacles as he traveled through a short lifetime. He never lost sight of his dream as a child to become a writer. This collection will take you on the journey of his life, in the early days, through happy and sad times, and later periods during his fight with Huntington's Disease. As his physical capabilities became more difficult he felt free spiritually and expressed himself through poetry. When his handwriting became illegible he still continued to scribble down his thoughts. Never did he give up hope. He had full knowledge of his destiny and independently met each day as a challenge. Throughout my life he encouraged me, and because of him I accomplished more than I thought possible. In preparation for this book, I have read these poems over and over and I am in awe of how I continue to be inspired. Without a doubt, as you read through these pages, you will find poems that fill you heart with joy, fond memories, and hope. - Joan Foor Huntington's Disease is a hereditary disorder that affects the brain cells causing uncontrolled body movements, lack of coordination, loss of ability to think and reason as well as psychological difficulties. There are approximately 30,000 people in the United States who are affected by HD and another 200,000 who are at risk of developing the disease. HD generally strikes in mid-life, between the ages of 30-50, but cases as young as 2 years and as old as 80 have been reported. In 1993, the gene that causes HD was identified and a simple predictive test was developed to determine whether a person carries the defective gene or not. Those who do carry the gene will develop the disease (if they live long enough) and they CAN pass it onto each of their children. Those who do not inherit the gene cannot pass HD onto any of their children - HD does no skip generations. There is currently no effective treatmen

“Sister” Jane Arnold returns in a colorful mystery featuring four-legged sleuths—and the breathtaking thrill of the chase—from the New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Like a Fox. As winter deepens over the Blue Ridge Mountains, even the threat of snowstorms cannot derail this year’s Christmas run, not as long as “Sister” Jane Arnold has a say in it. With spirits high and traditions strong, a glorious parade of hunters in full holiday regalia gathers on the grounds of Tattenhall Station. But a blinding blizzard brings an early end to the sport. More disturbing: A horse soon returns without its rider. Gregory Luckham, a controversial presence as the president of a powerful energy company pushing for a pipeline through central Virginia, is the missing hunter. A search is organized for what is presumed will be a dead, frozen body. What is discovered, however, chills everyone to the bone—and points toward murder. Sister Jane will have to untangle a mystery packed as hard as snow—full of history, secrets, old wounds, and avarice. Praise for Homeward Hound “Cunning foxes, sensible hounds and sweet-tempered horses are among the sparkling conversationalists in this charming series.”—The New York Times Book Review “Readers will be charmed by Brown’s endearing characters, animal and human, all of whom are given to philosophizing on the state of the world.”—Publishers Weekly “With deep and broad knowledge of the sport, the area and the people and animals who inhabit it, [Brown] infuses Homeward Hound—and the entire series—with unmatched authenticity, Southern charm, beloved characters and engaging storylines.”—The Free Lance–Star