Can't Catch a Break

by Susan Starr Sered, Maureen Norton-Hawk

Based on five years of fieldwork in Boston, Can't Catch a Break documents the day-to-day lives of forty women as they struggle to survive sexual abuse, violent communities, ineffective social and therapeutic programs, discriminatory local and federal policies, criminalization, incarceration, and a broad cultural consensus that views suffering as a consequence of personal flaws and bad choices. Combining hard-hitting policy analysis with an intimate account of how marginalized women navigate an unforgiving world, Susan Sered and Maureen Norton-Hawk shine new light on the deep and complex connections between suffering and social inequality."

Genres: Nonfiction

231 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Susan Starr Sered (born 1955) is Professor of Sociology at Suffolk University and Senior Researcher at Suffolk University's Center for Women's Health and Human Rights, having previously been the director of the "Religion, Health and Healing Initiative" at the Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, and a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Her interests include both research and advocacy / activism. Professor Sered is the author of seven books, nearly one hundred scholarly articles, and numerous op-eds and shorter articles focusing on women's health, mass incarceration, and a variety of religious issues, including:

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is accessibly written to the non ethnograohic specialist, yet excellently referenced, researched and methodologically sound for the professional reader in sociology or policy also. I found the work very moving, as the stories of individual women and their voices come through in the text, as well as a powerful political call for action - as the experiences of these women and researchers demonstrate the failings of the very systems designed to help them. Much of what is written seems like common sense - why are resources wasted on duplicating work by moving women around the system so much - yet it clearly needs to be said.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book for a class, and I must say that I am incredibly grateful my professor made this a mandatory text. By weaving important statistics on a variety of societal issues (incarceration, sexual assault, etc.) between powerful case studies, this novel has a lasting impact. I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants to better understand the structures and policies that affect our everyday lives and contribute to people's inability to escape from systems of oppression, poverty, and destitution.

[Jennb33 Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter read this for her Women in Crime class (taught by Susan) and was inspired to talk to me about how inspiring she found their work and how it changed her perspective on homeless populations. I loved this read, and wish there was a follow-up!

[Aria Scanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this for my sociology class, was interesting and very sad

[allie :)]

this book was so freaking sad omg

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

2016 Read Harder Challenge: A non-fiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes.

I assigned this book for my Senior Capstone class in Sociology which was focused on prisons and policing in the U.S. I originally chose it because I wanted to include something that focused specifically on women in the prison system. As it turned out, this book served not just as a way of examining the women's experiences, it also provided the defining ideas of the course.

One of the key questions of the book is: Have prisons become the way that we deal with suffering in the U.S.? Students came back to this question again and again as we read about and researched the prison system. The authors make clear and concrete connections between economic and health inequalities and the women's experiences with prisons and police. They argue that though the women seek to get out of this cycle, "they remain trapped in the caste of the ill and afflicted" (p. 9).

By exploring the question of why women can't escape this "institutional circuit", the authors are able to highlight the structural nature of suffering as opposed to focusing on an individual's bad choices or bad luck. This framing makes it a perfect book for better understanding C. Wright Mill's sociological imagination - connecting personal troubles to public issues. Though I assigned this to seniors, I think it would also be an extremely useful and accessible introductory text for new sociologists.

Though the content of this book is heartbreaking, the authors' approach affords the women in the study dignity and offers a compassionate, rather than judgemental, view.

[Victoria Law]

This is not simply a litany of horrific events experienced by individual women over the course of their lives. The authors analyze each of these experiences to challenge prevailing stereotypes around addiction, sexual violence, crime and post-traumatic stress disorder. They also challenge the dominant idea that individual responsibility rather than structural conditions lead to economic inequality, lack of resources and gender violence.

Though it's on an academic press, it's not written in jargon or academese.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wouldn't make it a year on the streets.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing I didn't already know (occupational hazard) but great ethnography and a really interesting read.