Transcending: Reflections Of Crime Victims - Softcover

Zehr, Howard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1561483338 ISBN 13: 9781561483334

Publisher: Good Books, 2001

Synopsis

          Are victims of crime destined to have the rest of their lives shaped by the crimes they've experienced? ("What happened to the road map for living the rest of my life?" asks a woman whose mother was murdered.) Will victims of crime always be bystanders in the justice system? ("We're having a problem forgiving the judge and the system," says the father of a young man killed in prison.) Is it possible for anyone to transcend such a comprehensively destructive, identity altering occurrence? ("I thought, I'm going to run until I'm not angry anymore," expresses a woman who was assaulted.)           Howard Zehr presents the portraits and the courageous stories of 39 victims of violent crime in Transcending: Reflections of Crime Victims. Many of these people were twice-wounded: once at the hands of an assailant; the second time by the courts, where there is no legal provision for a victim's participation. "My hope," says Zehr, "is that this book might hand down a rope to others who have experienced such tragedies and traumas, and that it might allow all who read it to live on the healing edge."

About this title

About the Author

Howard Zehr directed the first victim offender conferencing program in the U.S. and is one of the original developers of restorative justice as a concept. A prolific writer and editor, speaker, educator, and photojournalist, Zehr has spoken and trained others throughout North America and in more than 25 other countries, including Brazil, Japan, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, the Ukraine, and New Zealand, where a restorative approach in the juvenile justice system has led to a dramatic drop in youth crime.

Zehr is Distinguished Professor of Restorative Justice and co-director of the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Virginia). Zehr received his B.A. from Morehouse College, his M.A. from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. from Rutgers University. He lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

From the Back Cover

"This book is a powerful wake-up call.

These beautifully written, moving stories communicate powerfully the depth and complexity of every victim s individual experience with crime. Each profile not only reminds us why we should listen to victims, but challenges us to embrace a new vision of justice. Howard Zehr has given us a book with truth and wisdom on every page. Susan Herman, Executive Director, National Center for Victims of Crime, Arlington, Virginia

This book is essential reading. I defy anyone who reads this book to remain indifferent to the issues it raises. I applaud Dr. Zehr s efforts to bring clarity to this process by offering victims a chance to tell fully their side of the story. This book is a powerful wake-up call on so many levels. We no longer have an excuse for avoiding the issues this book raises. I hope it can be used to enlighten, inform, and encourage discourse about the kind of society we want to inhabit. Tom Kennedy, The Washington Post (former Editor of Photography for National Geographic)

Howard Zehr did something not enough of us takes the time to do he listened to victims about what they need. That is where justice reform and victim services should begin. Transcending: Reflections of Crime Victims should be mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in justice, especially politicians, advocates, judges and anyone who works with victims. Steve Sullivan, President of the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, Ottawa, Ontario

This book is a graphic acknowledgment that crime can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, at any place. It is also an elegant reminder that none of us knows how we will react to our own victimization or that of other people, and that each of us has our own vision of what justice truly means. Cheryl Guidry Tyiska, Director of Victim Services, National Organization for Victim Assistance, Washington, D.C.

Edition details

• Publisher: Good Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1561483338
• ISBN 13: 9781561483334
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208