The remarkable ability to find hope and meaning in even the bleakest of circumstances is one of humanitys most astonishing gifts. In this eloquent analysis of post-traumatic growth among long-term prisoners, Kazemian explores the role of redemptive narratives in this crucial survival mechanism.
Shadd Maruna, author of Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives
Lila Kazemians fascinating book makes a crucial contribution to our fast-developing understanding of desistance and its complex relationship to imprisonment and reintegration. As she recognizes, social inequality and punishment exist in a dangerous, unjust and criminogenic symbiosis, yet Kazemians careful empirical work shows how and why some people in prison nonetheless find a way to develop and grow, even in the context of the profound adversities created both by long-term imprisonment and by challenging post-release environments and experiences. In so doing, this book provides an invaluable resource to students, scholars, practitioners and survivors of criminal justice.
Fergus McNeill, Professor of Criminology and Social Work at the University of Glasgow
Strangely, life course scholars have paid little attention to the life course of people living in prison. Now, with this brilliant volume that honors the humanity of its subjects, Lila Kazemian fills this gap in desistance literature. By showing that people can thrive and grow while living in horrific conditions, this wise and rigorous book is simultaneously a tribute to the power of the human spirit and an indictment of penal institutions. By her example, Kazemian invites scholars to bring their skills, theories and voices to join her in shining a spotlight into the black box of prisons. Advocates, researchers, journalists and anyone concerned about human rights should follow her lead.
Jeremy Travis, Executive Vice President of Criminal Justice, Arnold Ventures; President Emeritus, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Positive Growth and Redemption in Prison
Although the negative consequences of rising incarceration rates have been well-established, criminological research has largely neglected to document psychological, social, and behavioral changes that occur during periods of incarceration. Drawing on an original longitudinal study of long-term French prisoners, this book examines the process of desistance from crime and positive growth in prison. It offers reflections on how personal transformation can be achieved in prison, particularly among individuals serving long prison sentences.
This research investigates the barriers to achieving positive growth in prison, as well as the different ways in which transformation can occur behind bars. It also conceptualizes the process of abandoning crime in prison, and sheds light on the cognitive, social, and structural factors that may trigger, accelerate, or hamper this process. This book explores the circumstances under which individuals can thrive in prison, and identifies key features of the narratives of prisoners who have achieved positive growth. The research presented in this book also examines the intricacies of returning to society after a lengthy period of time in prison.
Written in a clear and accessible style, this book will be invaluable reading for those engaged in studies of criminology and criminal justice, sociology, criminal behavior, prisons, and penology. It is also aimed at a variety of audiences, including academics, practitioners, policy-makers, and prisoners.
Lila Kazemian is Associate Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. She is a graduate of Universit de Montral in Canada, and she earned her Ph.D. in criminology at the University of Cambridge. She joined the faculty of John Jay College in 2006 after completing a post-doctoral fellowship funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. She has published on the topics of desistance from crime, life-course and criminal career research, prisoner reentry, and comparative criminology. Her work has been published in Criminology & Public Policy, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Punishment & Society, the European Journal of Criminology, and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
International Series on Desistance and Rehabilitation
The International Series on Desistance and Rehabilitation aims to provide a forum for critical debate and discussion surrounding the topics of why people stop offending and how they can be more effectively reintegrated into the communities and societies from which they came. The books published in the series will be international in outlook, but tightly focused on the unique, specific contexts and processes associated with desistance, rehabilitation, and reform. Each book in the series will stand as an attempt to advance knowledge or theorizing about the topics at hand, rather than being merely an extended report of specific a research project. As such, it is anticipated that some of the books included in the series will be primarily theoretical, while others will be more tightly focused on the sorts of initiatives which could be employed to encourage desistance. It is not our intention that books published in the series be limited to the contemporary period, as good studies of desistance, rehabilitation and reform undertaken by historians of crime are also welcome. In terms of authorship, we would welcome excellent PhD work, as well as contributions from more established academics and research teams. Most books are expected to be monographs, but edited collections are also encouraged.
General Editor
Stephen Farrall, University of Derby
Editorial Board
Ros Burnett, University of Oxford
Thomas LeBel, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA
Mark Halsey, Flinders University, Australia
Fergus McNeill, Glasgow University
Shadd Maruna, Queens University, Belfast
Gwen Robinson, Sheffield University
Barry Godfrey, University of Liverpool
The Architecture of Desistance
Stephen Farrall
Positive Growth and Redemption in Prison
Finding Light Behind Bars and Beyond
Lila Kazemian
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/criminology/series/ISODR
Positive Growth and Redemption in Prison
Finding Light Behind Bars and Beyond
Lila Kazemian
First published 2020
by Routledge 2
Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2020 Lila Kazemian
The right of Lila Kazemian to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
